Catching feathers
by MyLadyDay
Summary: If there was one thing Ace knew for sure in life, it was that Marco would not and could not die. Still, what happens when he gets really close to death? All Ace knows is that it's somehow his responsibility and absolutely no one wants to answer his questions.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my entry for the OP Big Bang hosted by the lovely Imperial Mint ^^ My partner was Ooonara and her art is super amazing, make sure to look at it when she posts because the story isn't worth much without it :D Much thanks to Turtlefriedrice for even giving me this idea in the first place (damn you and your fluff, woman) and Ooonara for adding scenes when needed. Thanks to Aerle for betaing like one chapter only cause I was shit at writing this and she didn't get a chance to do the rest. This was equal parts fun and awful to write, but I hope it's at least readable. Reviews are much appreciated ^^**

One moment he was kicking a random guy in the face, breaking his nose with an oddly satisfying crunch and the next he found himself distracted enough to end up with seastone cuffs hanging from his left wrist. Marco was pissed at himself, rightfully so, as he was now incapacitated to an extent. He was far from helpless, having lived without his power for long enough, but it was disappointing that he let himself get distracted in the first place. He let his frustrations out by way of kicking several other men while the rest of his division was busy with doing the same. It wasn't exactly a battle of the century; all the more reason for him to be annoyed at his own carelessness. The embarrassment was overwhelming as he was aware of eyes on him, feeling as he had made a mockery of himself in front of the crew that looked up to him.

Still, he was too distracted, unable to react properly as a shout of his name reached him a mere second before his chest blossomed with pain. He stilled immediately, not that he had a choice, really. It was pain of the likes he hadn't felt in years, his body usually regenerating before the sensation even registered in his mind. Yet, this time, all he felt was the painful destructive burn of his flesh and blood spilling down his skin. His eyes were wide open, his mind barely able to come to terms that he was, in fact, dying. The cuffs were on his wrist, holding back his flames and he realized with dread that he wouldn't make it out of this one. The world seemed to go silent around him, only his own already slowing heartbeat present in and all around him.

The prickle of his power lay dormant, just beyond his reach, and it was a whole other type of frustrating making its way to the forefront of his mind. He took his regenerative power for granted too much, he had gotten used to it to such an extent that he no longer remembered what life had been like before all of it. Flashes of memory played before his eyes, moments like this one when he had been too careless or not experienced enough, moments when he had come within touching distance of death's cold grip. Even if he escaped death's clutches one more time, the foreseeable future wasn't looking bright and, almost unnoticably, regret trickled through his veins at all the things he left unsaid.

Actual, familiar fire surrounded him, chasing away the chill for a moment, and finally, his ears zoned in on a single sound; Ace's panicked voice calling his name through the heat surrounding him. Marco was on his knees when Ace's warm hand touched his rapidly cooling skin, though he could hardly remember falling in the first place. Ace's voice rang through his ears and instead of peace, for going out as a true pirate, Marco felt regret for leaving Ace behind, for leaving him in the dark about parts of himself. Ace could have been crying, Marco couldn't really tell as the world grew dark in his eyes, his vision fading to black. His hearing was left, just barely so, and he might have heard Ace call for the keys, but it didn't matter anymore. It was his end and he could do nothing about it. So much for immortality.

-0-

Ace was part of the crew long enough to know there was no one stronger than Marco, save for Whitebeard himself. He was the rock that supported every single person on that ship, including the captain. And here he was, in front of Ace's eyes with a few gunshot wounds in his chest, bleeding out because of a stupid pair of handcuffs. He couldn't believe it even if he was seeing it, the way Marco's eyes were unfocused and blind to the world, his hands trembling as he barely remained on his knees. Well, he would have fallen already had it not been for Ace holding him up. He was still breathing, but barely so, as he was growing colder to the touch. Ace screamed for Thatch to bring the damn keys and take off the cuffs, giving the phoenix a chance to surface and save Marco before he was gone for good.

Tears, ones he didn't even try to hide, were clouding his vision as he felt Marco's blood seep onto him, but he didn't care. He wouldn't let go; if Marco had to die, he wouldn't let him die alone. His voice was shaky and weak as he called for Thatch again, barely expecting him to actually show up with a key ring, fumbling with the cuff circling Marco's wrist. He was taking too damn long! Marco's breathing was growing weaker, the tremble of his hands stopping as he grew too weak for even that.

Still, a surprisingly loud clink sounded as the cursed cuffs hit the stone ground and Ace felt Marco gasp next to his ear before hands pulled him away. He resisted, ignoring the shouted warnings from other commanders for everyone to move away as far as possible. Ace didn't understand nor did he care, he couldn't leave Marco's side. Even if Marco didn't care anymore, Ace would never forgive himself for not being there. He shouted as someone, probably Thatch, pulled him away with more arms coming around him as he failed in his attempt to break away and get back to Marco. He trashed against the way he was restrained, anger bubbling and burning inside him at the treatment, mixing with hurt because Thatch should know better than to drag him away from Marco.

A shrill scream, one that was not his own, tore through the air and he froze. It was Marco's voice, he'd recognize it no matter how pained and distorted it sounded. Marco hadn't let out a sound as he was shot, yet was alive enough to scream so loudly and Ace didn't know what to make of it. If he was paying attention to anything other than Marco, Ace would notice that all the other men from the crew found cover as if Marco was a threat to them.

Marco ducked forward, landing on his hands as he screamed again and Ace was unable to move from the sheer pain he felt from hearing Marco like that. He didn't understand why they had pulled him away, but he finally noticed the eerie silence. Marco panted, his chest heaving violently and Ace couldn't look away. The air seemed to crackle around them, something akin to the calm before the storm and he simply couldn't do anything. Marco breathed hard, an occasional grunt leaving his lips before another scream shook the entire space around them with the sheer weight of it before the high pitched sound shot from his body, something Ace only heard seconds before an explosion.

Saying it was an explosion was putting it mildly in this case. The crackling of fire spread around them, violent blue flames devouring everything in their vicinity. Ace never knew Marco's fire could be destructive and overall monstrous as it was, a different shade of blue than it usually had been. The calm blue of daylight, as Ace so poetically thought of it, was now a violent dark mass bordering on black as it didn't relent in the wide circle around the phoenix. Even as fascinated as he was, Ace couldn't help but worry for Marco as he was caught in the middle of a fiery storm made of swirling black with the occasional blue that only reminded them that it was, indeed, their first mate and brother in the middle of the destruction.

The flames started moving, swirling in the circle as they rose, forming a tornado more violent and dangerous than any Ace had seen before, soaring through the air with increasing speed. The sky seemed to darken, grey clouds joining in on the dance of fire, mixing with the darkness of the flames and Ace stood frozen at the sight of the power displayed before him. He could barely hear more screams through the magnitude of sounds, but he knew they were there. They seemed to strengthen the fray, the storm shaking the ground and rumbling all around them, cocooning Marco. Whether for better or worse, Ace didn't know.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The silence was deafening, after the overwhelming noise it had followed, as the black fire thinned out into the air, taking the stormy clouds with it. The sky was a gentle blue once again, as far as he could see through the dust around him. It was too quiet, not a single scream could be heard anymore and he couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or not. Still, no one was holding him and he started to run through the fog of dirt only to stop dead in his tracks at a new kind of sound filling the air. If he didn't know any better, Ace would assume it was a child crying out, the sound of it shrill and piercing in the sudden calm.

He turned to Thatch in confusion, finding him and every other commander in sight not so subtly avoiding his gaze. Ace frowned, far from understanding, but wasted no time on questions and walked into the middle of the fray. The dust was settling around him, the air becoming clear once again as Ace finally reached the pile of clothes he knew were Marco's and a toddler nestled securely into them as if it were a nest, the silk blue sash wrapped around the tiny body. Were it not for the distinguishing blond tuff of hair, Ace wouldn't have recognized Marco at all, though the reason for Marco being a toddler eluded him. Flickers of blue fire licked along his uncovered skin, so pale and seemingly fragile in the sunlight.

"Marco?" he said reluctantly, observing the child with shock as the child stared back with clear blue eyes and a tiny thumb slowly making its way to his mouth. That was just getting surreal. Ace jumped as a hand touched his shoulder, Thatch passing him on the way to the child and picking him up surprisingly gently. Marco's calm shattered as soon as he was touched and he started struggling in Thatch's arms. Still, to Ace it looked as if Thatch knew exactly what he was doing, though where he had learned how to care for a small child was beyond Ace.

"Well, looks like you now know more about Marco's power," Thatch said, some strange softness in his voice, as he walked towards Ace. "He'll explain it to you in a couple of weeks. I'm guessing he's around three years old," he spoke softly as to not disturb the child further, keeping the sash wrapped tightly around him as he handed the fidgeting bundle to Ace who took him on instinct, not really thinking about it at all. "Have fun," Thatch added with a grin that looked entirely too strained and insincere, even to Ace in his current confused state, before turning to the ship, following everyone else.

"Have fun?" Ace asked, awkwardly holding the child as if it were a bomb. "With what? Why are you leaving me with him?" He was starting to feel a bit panicked, considering his utter inexperience with child care and the fact that he still had no idea why Marco was a kid in the first place. Meanwhile, Marco didn't seem to share his concerns and he calmed more the closer he got to Ace. It was barely a moment before he closed his eyes, his breathing evening out as his all too tiny fist curled against Ace's chest where Ace held him tight.

"You're gonna take care of him," Thatch told him, his grin still present and as strained as before while he turned to Ace, but never stopped walking. "We'll help when you need us, but he's not really fond of any of us at the moment."

"But... I don't know anything about kids!" Ace hissed; he felt the need to scream, to tell them he couldn't do it, but even he knew he wasn't supposed to shout with a sleeping three year old in his arms.

"You'll manage," Thatch reassured him, smiling more sincerely this time, but still unable to hide that he was afraid. Ace wasn't capable of figuring out what part of the whole situation scared Thatch at the moment, though. "Though you should hurry up and get him dressed, kids can catch a cold easily," he continued with a scolding tone before walking off, leaving a fairly stunned Ace in his wake. He could admit that Thatch had a point, the sash was pretty thin and didn't provide any warmth for the child. _The child._ It was still Marco, or at least he hoped so, and he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Still, despite feeling weird about it all, he had an obligation to Marco. In all honesty, he wouldn't feel right letting anyone else take care of him if Ace could do it himself. It was his job and not just because the two shared Marco's room. Surely, this would be his chance to pay Marco back for everything he had done for Ace since he had joined the crew. Even if it was surreal to think he'd do it while Marco was a child and not really knowing whether Marco even knew who any of them really were.

He managed to climb the plank to the deck and was immediately met with a crowd of supposedly dangerous pirates currently cooing at the sleeping child. Apparently, the first mate was no longer to be taken seriously and having a toddler on board turned every single one of the dangerous Whitebeard pirates into a gang of oversized teddy bears. Still, some of them observed with understandable suspicion, but with curiosity that couldn't be hidden.

It was... creepy. Creepy and worrisome because, Ace may have been stunned as he tried to pass through the crowd, but he could still see the underlying panic on several faces amongst the men. He wasn't surprised that they were the faces of the commanders nor was he surprised that the negative emotions seemed to drain from them as soon as Ace came closer with Marco in his arms.

He thought he had seen it all, really, when Haruta stared at little Marco with a look of absolute awe, but the last thing Ace had expected was Jozu taking one look at Marco and smiling like a proud father. Ace had thought, judging from Thatch's reaction at seeing baby Marco, that the situation wasn't exactly new, hence the reason for the crew's excitement was still unknown to him. It was a wonder that the bundle in his arms still didn't stir, even with all the ruckus around them, but Ace didn't want to risk it.

Apparently, neither did their captain as he appeared on the deck, minor earthquakes also known as Whitebeard's footsteps shaking the Moby Dick as he approached the crowd.

"Pops..." Ace whined, rather pathetically, yet he was desperate enough not to care. As if it wasn't enough that he suddenly had a kid to care for without a reasonable explanation as to why Marco turned into said kid in the first place, but having the whole crew flock around him was just a whole other level of stress right there. "Get them away," he continued his display of desperation and the old man, luckily, felt generous. With a booming laugh, though still of lesser volume than usual for the sake of the sleeping child, Whitebeard managed to coax his crew into opening a path for Ace. It was rather dramatic, really, but Ace took the opportunity that was given to him and started on his way to Marco's room.

Of course, he didn't get far and he felt the urge to facepalm as the captain himself, supposedly the most reasonable person on the ship, stopped him to poke at the kid in his arms with an oversized finger. Well, more stroked a chubby cheek than actually poke.

"He's such a cute kid, isn't he?" Pops asked with a gentle curve to his lips and it was at this point that Ace 's eyes narrowed as he was completely at a loss for words and just wanted to sit down. He openly glared at the captain, if only to mask the sudden wave of dread filling him, displaying a level of how not amused he was at all of the attention and Whitebeard lifted his hands in defeat, letting him pass. If he didn't know any better, Ace would have thought he'd seen the captain pout, but that was a thought he didn't want to entertain for long.

"He is. Can I go now? You're all too loud," Ace said, glaring at the men around him. "Don't any of you dare disturb him while he sleeps," Ace added with a hiss before stalking over to the closest door, disappearing into the depths of the ship before processing the fact that he had gone all mother-hen over his boyfriend-turned-toddler. Pirate life was not treating him the way he had expected, but he did sympathize with Dadan just the tiniest bit seeing as he now knew what it was like to randomly get a child to take care of. He seriously hoped there wouldn't be another one. Also, that Marco was a better kid than Ace himself had been all those years ago.

The insides of the ship were empty, surprisingly so, but he still made his way through the halls quickly in hopes he wouldn't stumble onto anyone and have to discuss Marco or anything. Thinking about Marco was still too confusing, though, so he tried not to do it too much for now, lest he wanted a headache or something. With a quick step and a tight grip on the little body in his arms, Ace reached their room and entered it quickly, closing the door behind him as smoothly as possible with a toddler in his arms. Still, he somehow managed without waking Marco and he really had to wonder what the hell was going on with him; as an adult, Marco barely slept at all and even if he did, his sleep would be light and often plagued with nightmares. Well, he was probably making up for all the sleep he usually lost, Ace thought with a smile. At least something positive in all of this.

Gently, Ace set him down onto the middle of the bed. Marco was still wrapped into the blue silk sash, but naked underneath and Ace briefly wondered if he was cold. He didn't spare a second thought to the ruined clothes they left behind as long as the sash was still in perfect condition, seeing as Marco valued it more than most of his possessions.

With Marco sleeping on the bed, Ace no longer knew what to do with his hands or with himself, for that matter. The awkwardness of the situation was finally reaching him at full power as was the paranoia. What if Marco rolled off the bed? Would he heal with his power or would he be hurt? Slightly panicked, Ace moved to the bed, shifting the pillows and blankets until Marco lay in the middle of a really soft looking nest that would be virtually impossible to escape for a three year old. With that out of the way, Ace sat in Marco's chair by the desk, turning towards the bed to keep an eye on Marco. With his elbows resting on his knees and his chin in his hands, Ace sat there with wide eyes and no idea what to do next.

He was left with nothing to fuss over, seeing as Marco was safe and warm and sleeping tightly, and Ace found his head was filling with doubts and fear. The fear mingled with anger at the same time because he was left here with a responsibility for Marco without even knowing if Marco was himself or an explanation as to whether he would ever go back to his adult self. Afraid to touch, Ace clasped his hands tightly together, even if he was too far from the bed to actually reach Marco. What was he supposed to do?

A soft knock reached him from the door and he hoped it was someone who could actually help, not just poke at the kid 'cause he was cute. Ace may or may not have blushed as he realized that toddler Marco was, indeed, cute. Very cute. Instead of another knock to snap him out of unusual thoughts, the door opened and Izo peeked in. His eyes scanned the room, taking notice of Marco on the bed then finally settling on Ace. He entered quietly, somehow balancing a very big canvas bag in his arms, the look on his face was one of pure focus. Ace could tell it was serious when Izo said nothing and didn't even smirk like he usually did.

"You'd better be here to help me," Ace whispered, his eyes still firmly set on the nest he made on the bed. He wasn't about to let Marco out of his sight, no matter how afraid of screwing up he actually was. "Or at least explain," he hissed, suddenly slightly pissed that Thatch refused to give him any information even if he clearly had knowledge about all of it. Even Pops didn't try explaining, a fact that may have hurt Ace just a bit.

Izo, however, finally smirked in response as he dumped the bag in front of Ace's feet. It wasn't the usual smirk, Ace could see that without a doubt. "I'm here to bring you provisions," he said, sounding sincere and maybe just a tad amused which managed to unsettle Ace enough to take a good look at Izo, abandoning the thoughts of child Marco for a moment. The bag was, honestly, very suspicious. He was slightly afraid of opening it, considering it was Izo who brought it and he honestly wouldn't put anything past the man. Still, the unimpressed look Izo shot him prompted him to open it and confuse him further.

With narrowed eyes and confusion all over his face, Ace reached into the bag and pulled out a piece of clothing. As it unfolded in his hands, he found himself staring at a yellow plush onesie with a little duck beak on the hood and tiny wings hanging from the sleeves. The feet got him, though, as he noticed the slightly darker fabric shaped as duckie feet. Ace glanced up at Izo, his eyes wide with realization and the other just grinned as he noted the change in Ace's expression. At least they could find amusement in the situation as well.

"Izo, what is this?" he asked, the tiny piece of clothing hanging from his hands away from his body as if it were about to explode.

"That, darling, is a onesie," Izo said, his lady like composure not allowing him to laugh out loud as he almost felt compelled to do. "And there are more in the bag. You can't keep him naked all the time," he said before his brow scrunched up in thought. "Well, at least not while he's a child, you can do whatever you want when he's back to his normal self," he added after a moment.

"Wait, so he is gonna turn back?" Ace asked with clear relief, dropping the yellow abomination into the bag yet slightly compelled to dig through it and see if there was a phoenix one. That'd just be hilarious and it would probably take his mind off the stress of the situation.

"Yes, he will, don't worry," Izo said with a dismissive wave of his hand, but Ace could still see the strain behind it. Ace knew Izo well enough so far, and even if he was by far the best at hiding things he didn't want others to see, Ace could tell this wasn't easy on anyone "Have fun until that happens," he added before grinning more sincerely this time and disappearing through the door with amazing speed just so Ace wouldn't have time to throw stuff at him. Or ask more questions because the answers he got now were meager at best.

Finally alone, or as alone as he could be with a sleeping child on the bed, Ace opened the bag as much as he could and glanced at the content. It was colorful, to say the least, and everything looked really soft. Careful not to wake Marco, though he doubted the child would wake up anyway considering he slept through the noise on deck, Ace dumped the contents of the bag on the edge of the bed. His hands went through the pile of pretty tiny pieces of clothing and he didn't really know what to think. He did, however, see that Izo picked out every single piece personally. If he had thought the duck onesie was strange, Ace certainly didn't know what to think of the dark green one that looked like a dinosaur.

Still, the strange urge to dress Marco into one of them was really strong and not just because the little guy might be cold. No, he was pretty sure he finally understood what Thatch had meant when he told him to have fun, even through the distress both of them felt at the time. The bag of the most adorable clothing imaginable only served to convince him that the other commanders had fun with dressing up a tiny Marco at some point which was odd to think about. He couldn't deny that it seemed like fun considering Marco was the strongest amongst them, save for Whitebeard himself, and the opportunity to dress him up as a duck wouldn't come along very often. Not to mention how thinking about that was a great distraction from the panic he knew he would feel soon enough.

He was, painfully so, aware that Marco would have his ass for the clothes; probably quite literally. Though, Ace was sure it would be worth it. Most likely. At least that would mean Marco was back to his usual self and Ace couldn't see how that could be bad. He was still fairly confused about the whole situation and, honestly, really freaked because he was handed a small child to care for, but it was all kind of easy so far. Probably because Marco was asleep, but whatever.

Picking up the pile of clothes from the bed, Ace decided he'd dress Marco when he woke up instead of attempting it at the moment and risking waking Marco up. The pile was dumped, gently of course, onto the desk. After all, Marco could hardly use it in his current situation and size. With clothes out of the question, Ace debated whether he should leave the room and get an extra blanket, but soon decided against it as Izo would most likely castrate him for leaving a child alone. No matter that the child in question was actually their first mate and Ace couldn't even think about walking out of the room without something seizing in his chest. It was easy to forget who the child was at times considering, again, Marco's current size. The fact that Marco slept with his tiny thumb in his mouth also did nothing to help remind Ace who it actually was sleeping in the nest of pillows.

Yet, at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

With Marco fast asleep and not another soul in the vicinity, Ace, yet again, didn't know what to do. He wasn't getting any answers nor did he succeed in making sense of anything himself. Deciding on rummaging through the room in an attempt at finding a blanket, Ace's mind swirled through everything that happened in the short time span of not even two hours. Grinning in triumph as he located a surprisingly fluffy blanket, Ace turned to the bed and gently tucked the blanket over the sleeping child. Somehow, he was reminded of Luffy and the way he used to just fall asleep before hitting his pillow, leaving Ace to tuck him in. Sure, Luffy had been older when they started living together at Dadan's, but the action was the same. Marco barely stirred at the new layer of fabric being draped over him, only removing the thumb from his mouth and burrowing into the soft blanket. For a brief moment, Ace forgot it was actually Marco in the blanket nest and he couldn't help but think how cute the little blond was.

He did remind himself of the fact soon enough, though, and stepped away from the bed. His plan of further action was still non-existent and Ace figured he should really think it through before Marco woke up. Of course, that was easier said than done since he had no idea whether Marco was still Marco or just a regular three year old kid. Did he even remember his life or would he have to explain it all to a child that could in no way understand what Marco meant to the crew and what he actually did for all of them.

Ace could already feel a headache building; it was all too confusing and the others offered no help whatsoever. Except for Izo, perhaps, he did drop off some clothes after all. He slipped out of his boots, setting them down next to the door, before he started pacing around the room. He needed a plan. Leaving Marco in someone else's care was no longer an option, not after the way he struggled when Thatch held him, so Ace'd have to do his best and do everything himself. Though, there was no shame in asking for a few guidelines from someone who dealt with the exact same situation before. Still, after the display on deck, Ace knew he'd have to visit Whitebeard alone because he, apparently, had a soft spot for baby Marco. Not for the first time, Ace briefly wondered what kind of crew he'd joined because this was the last thing he had expected to happen on a Yonko's ship. He also couldn't help but wonder whether Pops knew Marco when he was this age for real. Their past was something they never talked about and Marco had yet to share details about his childhood to Ace. At the moment, it was extremely frustrating because he knew nothing about what kind of child Marco had been.

Well, leaving Marco all alone was still not an option so he'd have to postpone the visit for another time. Or just improvise the whole thing because how hard could taking care of a toddler be? That was a dumb question, Ace frowned, it was freaking hard to take care of a child. With astounding clarity, he could remember how Dadan and the bandits sucked at it at first.

His stomach rumbled and Ace realized it was already dinner time. As if on cue, a knock sounded from the door before a mass of brown hair peeked in followed by Thatch's face. He was grinning genuinely this time and as he entered the room, Ace noticed a tray of food in his hands, momentarily forgetting he was annoyed with Thatch. The dinner smelled like something brought to him from the heavens by angels themselves, only reminding him further how much time must have passed since he brought the still sleeping child into their room. He barely noticed the towel hanging from Thatch's arm, his attention fully on the tray of food.

Ace was hardly one for table manners and Thatch was luckily already used to it while Marco slept through all the downright disgusting sounds and the occasional burp. Thatch was suspiciously silent, however, his attention dead set on the sleeping bundle. He uttered a few jabs at Ace for clearly waking his mother-hen instincts and making a tiny nest, but Ace was having none of that and he was that it lacked all usual fire. Still, his gaze never left the bundled form of their superior officer. Of course, Ace noticed. There was something in Thatch's eyes that made him pause and wonder what it had been like before, when such a thing happened.

"You look creepy when you stare at him like that," he said, the grin already forming on his face as Thatch grew surprisingly flustered by the observation until he noticed Ace was messing with him. It was a simple, harmless remark, but it managed to break the odd air in the room.

"He's not really a kid, it's not creepy," he said with a pout, averting his eyes from Marco and for a moment, Ace could have sworn Thatch looked pained.

"I don't think Izo would agree with you staring at Marco like that, no matter the age," Ace told him with a raised eyebrow. The conversation turned weird way too fast and Ace was far too tired to think about anything like that. He was too tired for all of this, but it was out of his hands. "Maybe you should talk it over with Izo and let me sleep. It's been a long day," Ace added softly as he finished the food before him. Thatch nodded, but his gaze was unfocused. To Ace it looked as if he were seeing some long passed memory, replaying before his eyes, and not even Thatch knew how to handle it, growing nervous all of a sudden.

"I'm going, I'm going," Thatch said, at least pretending he wasn't eager about leaving before he picked up all the dishes, leaving the food for Marco on the desk for later. "Keep him warm and if he wakes up during the night, feed him that." He sounded like a worried parent leaving his child with a babysitter for the first time and Ace tried very hard not to laugh at the image. While he struggled to keep a poker face that might even make Marco proud, Thatch picked up everything and made his way to the door, thankfully keeping as quiet as possible. It might have been useless, though, considering Marco didn't even stir since he was brought there. That should have, perhaps, concerned him, seeing as children that age rarely stayed still for long, but Ace thought nothing of it. It was still Marco, after all. At least, he hoped it was.

"And Ace," Thatch called out as he stood by the open door, pointing at the wet towel hanging from the back of the chair with a solemn look on his face. "You should clean yourself up." With that, he was gone, shutting the door quietly behind him, leaving the two all alone once again. This time, Ace grew more restless despite how tired he was. It all came crashing down on his without a warning, the image of Marco being shot in the chest, the gaping holes that marred his skin. Marco had been bleeding out and Ace had been so utterly helpless. As if for the first time, Ace noticed the blood on his chest, already dry and flaking from his skin. Knowing it was Marco's blood made it worse because that wasn't supposed to happen. Marco was immortal, he was unbeatable, he didn't bleed like the rest of them.

Ace could feel something tightening in his chest at the prospect of losing Marco, something that almost happened mere hours before. He could feel the tremble of his hands as he reached for the towel, startling as the wet fabric met his skin and he ran it across the dry mess of blood. Marco's blood, he remembered. Breathing was suddenly very difficult and he gasped for breath, his lungs tight and seemingly unable to draw air. He had almost lost Marco. Whenever they talked of death, it was never about Marco dying and realizing that that was also a possibility came as a punch to the gut for Ace.

Looking at the bed and the peaceful look on Marco's face just made the knowledge more difficult to bear. The knuckles of his fingers turned white with the force behind his grip on the towel. Suddenly, he wasn't cleaning the blood off fast enough. The once white towel was now disturbingly red and looking at it was anything but easy, even more so with the soft breathing he heard from the nest on the bed. Ace rubbed his chest until it hurt, trying to rid himself of the dried blood before he lost his mind or broke down entirely. The need to touch Marco and make sure he was still alive became overwhelming, burning under Ace's fingertips and he only spared a quick glance at his skin, now red from the rough towel, to make sure all the blood was gone.

Unceremoniously dumping the towel on the floor, Ace approached the bed in a panic and reached out towards Marco's uncovered face. It was painful how fragile Marco looked and Ace brushed his fingertips along a chubby cheek with the faintest touch, unreasonably scared he might hurt Marco. The room felt like it was expanding around him, growing bigger and more ominous without Marco's comforting presence to keep Ace company. Odd, how he was looking at Marco yet it felt as if he weren't there at the same time. Ace couldn't help the fear and the blind panic that Marco would never again be the person he knew, not when he looked at the man he loved and saw a child.

Stripping out of his shorts and dumping them on the floor, Ace climbed on the bed in nothing but his boxers and curled around Marco's nest. A strange kind of comfort spread through him as he pressed the palm of his hand on Marco's chest, feeling the rise and fall of each breath. He settled on the blanket with his head on the pillow closest to Marco's face, their foreheads almost touching. Sleep didn't feel like an option no matter how tired he was and Ace settled for watching Marco's lashes flutter as he dreamed, letting himself relax because Marco was alive. Too small, too young, but alive nonetheless and Ace knew it was more than he thought was possible when he saw Marco fall to his knees just hours before.


	2. Chapter 2

Even before he was completely awake, Ace had this nagging feeling of being watched. It was a creepy feeling without a doubt, especially while being aware of which ship he was aboard of and knowing full well that his fellow commanders, or at least some of them, had no qualms about entering random rooms without knocking or even checking if the room's occupants were awake. Or dressed, for that matter, which was why Ace could now be recognized by almost the entire crew by freckled butt alone.

Those were worries for another time, however. At the moment, he had to pull himself together enough to see who was creeping on him, though that thought was interrupted as the situation from yesterday filtered in. It was enough to completely wake him and he jerked up, his eyes flying open as he immediately turned to the nest of blankets he made for Marco. Ace managed to get a look at Marco, the little fragile looking Marco, for a mere moment before those blue eyes turned as wide as saucers. With a poof of feathers and blue fire, Marco's entire form, including the frightened face, was replaced by the phoenix.

Except, and Ace found this part hilarious enough to ease some of yesterday's tension, it wasn't the phoenix he knew and admired ever since he joined the crew. There, in the middle of the nest of blankets and pillows, sat a baby phoenix with soft fuzz instead of real feathers under the layer of blue flickering flames. The majestic creature that usually led them into battle was now slightly bigger than a baby chick and definitely as round as one. It was absolutely, dare he say, adorable.

Until he noticed the distress on that tiny face, eyes wide even as Marco sat there in his bird form, huddled into a tiny ball, doing his best to hide without actually moving. Ace sobered immediately, reaching out towards Marco with slow deliberate movements. He tensed a fraction as Ace's fingers brushed against him, but the fright drained out as Ace stroked along the bright yellow tuff of cool fire on Marco's head. The relief that coursed through the small body was instant, the tight ball of nerves relaxing and melting into a puddle of fire and fluff.

Ace smiled despite himself, feeling some of the worry lift off his chest at the fact that no matter how big or small Marco was, the same thing seemed to relax him. It was a little known fact amongst the crew that the scary first mate liked to have his head scratched and enjoyed having his hair played with. It also helped ease Ace's own worries and the creeping panic from the day before.

His fingers continued stroking along the softness, the flame chilling his skin, as Ace busied himself with an attempt to figure out what to do next. After all, only one thing was certain: Marco was his responsibility for however long this might last. While no one seemed inclined to clue him in about how long that might be, he was left to his own devices. Still, knowing Marco would, in fact, go back to his normal ageless self was certainly a relief, even if Ace knew he wouldn't be able to relax completely until he saw that familiar ageless face once again.

Marco, now substantially calmer than when Ace had woken up, edged closer across the blankets until one of his talons prodded at Ace's thigh. Going with the new tradition of learning something new every day, Ace had the misfortune of being taught that young birds had claws as sharp as Thatch's kitchen knives. He couldn't help but fire up as the needles coming out of Marco's tiny bird feet poked through his skin as Marco climbed onto his lap. At least he couldn't hurt Marco with his fire, he thought, noting that their flames were mixing like usual and it brought a smile to his face. It was enough to give him a sense of normalcy in this situation that was anything but normal.

The monstrous grumbling of his belly, however, no matter how familiar, was also pretty frightening to the tiny bird in his lap. No matter how much he tried, Ace had a hard time looking at such a small, fragile looking creature and seeing _his_ Marco, the strong first mate that feared nothing. Seeing him like this, though, brought on a new sense of protectiveness in Ace, knowing that it was his turn to take care of Marco the way Marco took care of him back when Ace still refused to officially join the crew. Well, not really the same, of course, but enough for Ace.

With steady fingers and a soothing voice, Ace did his best to get Marco's attention just to calm him down, pushing back the questions swelling in his mind. No one offered any answers or explanations about the situation beyond those sparse facts Thatch and Izo were kind enough to offer so Ace really didn't know how to go about this. Was Marco himself, simply stuck in a smaller body? Or was he a genuine three year old child with no memory of where and what he was?

Thinking like that wasn't getting him any closer to breakfast, though, so Ace decided to get up and put some pants on before trying to leave the confines of his room with the little phoenix in tow. It was a sound plan, really, but he didn't account for Marco's willingness, or the lack thereof, to move out of Ace's lap. Apparently, Ace's getting up from the bed was interpreted as an invitation for Marco, still in tiny bird form with ridiculously sharp claws, to climb Ace's chest. Using nothing but those sharp claws.

He wasn't proud of the tears streaming down his face, but Ace did manage to keep all the pained sounds under wraps so at least Marco wasn't frightened again, even if Ace fell back on the bed in the process. That was a small win, considering his chest was now scratched up and bleeding. Embarrassing as it was, Ace would clearly have to admit that he had been taken by surprise by a small bird because there really was no hiding the cuts on his chest. Sure, a shirt would do a good job, but that would be suspicious all in itself.

As Marco perched on Ace's shoulder, claws digging into freckled skin, Ace sighed and rose from the bed, successfully this time. Sliding into a pair of shorts and slipping into the discarded boots by the door was easy, but Ace grew nervous as the left the room and started towards the galley, fixing the hat on his head as he walked. The crew had acted weirdly around Marco the day before, but he was asleep then and that, while cute, didn't really give Ace an idea on how Marco might react to a crowd that big while he was like this.

In an attempt to give Marco some comfort, Ace lifted his hand and let his fingers stroke along Marco's scalp again. If birds could purr, Ace was sure Marco would be doing just that as he seemed to melt on his perch, his softness moulding against Ace's neck. He didn't mind the tickling nor the cool press of the phoenix's fire against his skin; it helped ease the burn from his newly acquired cuts, at least. For the first time since he had been handed a toddler to care for, Ace let himself genuinely relax to the sound of Marco's soft cooing. Well, maybe birds did purr like oversized feathery cats.

Their journey to the galley was uninterrupted and, for some reason, it unnerved Ace. A ship of that size with a crew that numbered in the thousands and yet there wasn't a single soul in the halls Ace walked. It was highly suspicious, not to mention borderline impossible, but he didn't really let himself dwell on that. Breakfast was his main priority, if not for himself then for Marco, at least. Which, okay, now that he thought about it, shouldn't have been his first priority because he completely forgot to dress Marco and that was the most ridiculous thing at the moment because Marco was technically naked on his shoulder, being paraded around the ship. Ace already knew his ass was toast once Marco turned back and punished him for this and whatever else he's gonna fuck up at some point. After all, Ace knew himself well enough to know he'd screw something up at one point. And that was optimistic thinking, given that he forgot to dress a three year old, what else had he forgotten?

It was at this point that Ace hoped Marco's regenerative power would keep him alive and well from any further bouts of Ace's forgetfulness. Well, at least it didn't slip his mind that he needed to feed Marco, though he wasn't too sure about how he would do it while Marco remained in his tiny, totally adorable and very naked phoenix form. Did that mean he'd have to find some seeds or bread crumbs? Or, God forbid, worms? What did a phoenix even eat? Hell, he didn't even know whether Marco ever ate in his full bird form.

There was a very distinct feeling of all consuming dread coursing through Ace as he walked, tiny claws in his shoulder the only anchor to the present he had at the moment. He was, after all, being painfully reminded how very out of his depth he was here. Really, pirate life was not treating him as he'd been expecting and it was definitely far too early for all the worrying he was doing. Saying he had gotten a good night's sleep would, after all, be a lie considering he was up for hours, panic zoning in and out of his head, until exhaustion completely took over and he finally blacked out.

Walking into the dining hall answered the question of where the crew was hiding and one step into the room was enough to draw attention to them, every eye in the vicinity turning towards them. Ace let his gaze rest on Pops first and he almost broke under the sadness he saw there; Ace's knowledge about Marco's childhood started and ended with knowing Pops took care of him since he was really young. One look at Whitebeard then and there was enough for Ace to know there was something important he should know about their time together before their big family was created.

Only Izo gave him some comfort, his demeanor showing nothing but the usual calm and Ace decided immediately who he would sit with. The rest of the room was graced with a glare and a preemptive flaring of fire across his skin as he started walking again. Marco seemed to preen on his shoulder when their flames touched. Ace smiled at the same time, the mingling of their fire always a comforting feeling. Especially now, when Marco wasn't his usual self and even the smallest of familiarities were an anchor to what was familiar. Ace's hand never stopped stroking Marco's head, but he did show his discontent at the staring still pointed at them.

Ace moved through the room to grab some food before settling in next to Izo. All the commanders and Pops were still looking at him, or rather, at Marco and Ace was slowly noting that Marco's calm was slipping, but it was fine until Thatch broke the impromptu stare down.

"Marco!" he screamed with such childish glee, even Ace recoiled from the sheer volume Thatch managed. Meanwhile, Marco shrieked before scrambling up on Ace's shoulder and climbing his hair until he managed to slide himself fully into the safety of Ace's hat. It was, actually, anything but a smooth slide under the hat and Ace would be sporting scratches on his shoulder and the side of his face in addition to the ones on his chest. His ability to keep the screaming at bay was still admirably intact, but he shared Marco's panic immediately.

"Dammit, Thatch…" he managed through gritted teeth, trying his best to stay calm and not cause any additional distress to Marco. It wasn't even remotely easy, with the unshed tears in his eyes and jaw clamped shut, but at least he had no time to think about murdering Thatch in cold blood, what with all the pain and the willpower needed to not cry like an infant. He managed to glare at a frightening degree, causing everyone to finally look away and go back to their breakfast. Everyone except Thatch, who looked somewhat satisfied with himself, but Ace decided to let that go for now and focus on food for a moment.

Forgetting Marco was curled up on top of his head under the hat could have been easy with so much food in front of Ace, but he never let his mind wander from the strange yet familiar combination of warmth and cold atop his head. He could even ignore the crew mates still staring at him expectantly when they thought he wasn't paying attention. What he could not do was subject Marco to such scrutiny when he clearly didn't like so much attention. It wasn't that different from his grown up self, but as an adult, Marco didn't tend to hide from people shouting his name. For a moment, Ace mused that it could have been a reaction to Thatch, rather than the general action of calling his name, but he figured he would never know for sure.

In an attempt to finish breakfast as fast as he could so he could then get Marco out of the spotlight, Ace hurried as best as he could. He very much doubted that it looked different from how he usually ate, if he were being honest with himself, but all of it was for a good cause this time so he didn't let himself dwell on his poor table manners. Everyone was already used to it, anyway. Not that he noticed the reactions with the way he focused singlemindedly on the plate before him.

Another plate filled with food entered his periphery, though, and of course it caught his attention. What he also noticed was the slender pale hand holding said plate, a hand he knew belonged to Izo so instead of just eating everything in sight, Ace slowed down and glanced up until he met Izo's eyes. The bastard had a smug tilt to his lips as if he were marveling over how well he trained Ace to behave at the sight of him. Or maybe Ace just imagined it.

"When you're done, take this and find a quiet spot where Marco can eat," Izo told him, his voice just a whisper. "He'll change back if he gets hungry enough or you get him to relax." Frustratingly enough, Izo left it at that, sitting back down and returning to his breakfast with the air of finality around him. Normally, Ace wasn't really prone to panicking, but the situation he was in made things difficult for how he normally was. At the moment, he was apprehensive about how the hell he was supposed to get Marco to relax and turn back into his human body when he was clearly afraid of everyone. A strange concept to think about, but it was true nonetheless. Hopefully only for the time being.

Going back to his food, Ace let his thoughts wander, trying to think of something that helped Marco relax. Clearly, any couple activities were out of the question. So was booze, for obvious reasons, even if Marco never managed to get drunk for as long as Ace had known him, but not for lack of trying, really. Still, it wasn't an option and Ace couldn't fathom what could work. After all, Marco was currently frightened of his brothers, something that definitely hadn't happened before, so the usual techniques didn't seem like quite the best idea.

The only thing that came to mind was reading; an activity Marco enjoyed yet had no time for on most days. Most days meaning almost all the time. Marco was the second in command and with all the medical issues Pops had, all the paperwork fell into Marco's hands leaving him with almost no time for himself. Other than what little time he spent with Ace, Marco was only free during the hours he slept. Though, even with that realisation, Ace could hardly expect a three year old to read. Hell, at this point, he wasn't even sure if three year olds could talk. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure Marco could walk or talk.

Still, reading seemed to be the answer, or so he hope, and if nothing else, Ace could read to Marco in an attempt at calming both their nerves. Ace could admit he needed to relax just as much as Marco did because, while Marco now seemed to be afraid of all their brothers, Ace was scared of Marco. Maybe not in the strict sense of the word, but he was so scared of not knowing what was going on, not knowing how this was supposed to play out and mostly, he was scared of what the reason might be for Thatch and Izo keeping all the answers to themselves.

Drawing a deep breath, Ace reminded himself that Thatch did, in fact, reveal that Marco would return to normal and that fact alone kept Ace from losing his mind. Exhaling slowly, he made his decision and finished his food with renewed vigor. He kept ignoring the eyes on him and his hat, turning only to nod at Izo and glare at Thatch for his fuck up. Thatch, at least, had the decency to look ashamed and Ace felt a slight pang of shame himself because he knew how much Thatch loved Marco; a love that clearly grew if Marco turned smaller.

Despite the heavy feeling in his chest that seemed to grow with each passing second, Ace managed a smile at the fact that it was Marco hiding in under hat. He had to keep reminding himself that it was Marco because if he didn't, the information would slip his mind and the pit of worry in his stomach would return tenfold. At the moment, though, Ace tried to put that aside in favor of picking up the plate Izo gave him and disappearing from the room before anyone could follow him to catch a glimpse of Marco. He loved all his brothers dearly, he really did, but Ace refused to let them turn Marco into a spectacle. At the end of the day, he guessed he loved Marco more.

As he walked, Ace let his haki scope their surroundings just in case he had to avoid someone on his way to their room. This time, he had enough common sense to grab some clothes for Marco from Izo's bag along with what he knew was Marco's favorite book. It wasn't until they were halfway down the hall that Ace actually took notice of the fact he picked the little duck onesie for Marco to wear, but instead of dreading Marco's possible wrath, he allowed himself another smile, hoping Marco would find it in himself to forgive.

Now that he had a clear idea of what to do, for the first time since he was handed a child the day before, Ace noticed that he had no clue as to where he was going. His feet carried him outside onto the sunny deck and under the watchful gaze of half the crew. Ace only bothered waving at Pops as he passed the huge chair Whitebeard was sitting on, resolutely ignoring everyone else. He didn't want to stop and think about a secluded place for the two of them because that would, undoubtedly, come across as an invite for people to approach them which was not something Ace wanted.

"Ace!" Thatch called his name, not as loudly as he had called Marco's before, approaching from the direction of Pops' chair. Ace didn't stop, though, not that Thatch seemed to expect him to do anything other than continue walking. Thatch just fell into step with Ace, eyes set on the top of Ace's head. Before Ace could ask what this distraction was all about, Thatch spoke again. "Take him to the crow's nest on the fore-mast," Thatch said in a whisper, looking away from the hat and glancing over the crewmates that still watched intently. "It's always empty and it's where he used to take breaks from paperwork."

Ace finally slowed down at that before coming to a complete stop, turning towards Thatch with another smile. This was better than an apology and Ace could definitely appreciate the information. As could Marco, apparently, if the rustling under the hat was any indication. He could feel movement and the prickle of sharp claws before the hat shifted on his head. Ace could feel it rather than see it, even if he tried tilting his head to catch a glimpse of Marco. As far as he could feel, Marco peeked out from underneath the hat and stared at Thatch, if Thatch's stunned yet gleeful face was any indication. He smiled and Ace did nothing to stop him as Thatch reached out, slowly and carefully, until Marco let out a tiny squeek. Thatch made an equally odd sound of delight so Ace figured everything was alright, but they were gaining even more attention than before which, to Ace, meant they should really be going again.

Thatch seemed to realize it as well and he retracted his hand, grinning widely at the coo that could be heard as Marco slid back under the hat. Ace couldn't help but match the grin, even if Thatch wasn't looking at him in favor of staring at the hat, probably in hopes of another chance to see Marco peek out. There was no time for that, though, as Ace started walking once again, this time with a set goal before him and, finally, the despair in his gut seemed to momentarily lessen at the display of Marco trusting Thatch.

Despite it not being the tallest mast of the Moby Dick, climbing up to the crow's nest with full hands and a bird under his hat was an adventure for Ace. One he hoped he wouldn't have to repeat, at least not without adjusting how he carried the food. A plate was in no way practical. Still, they made it eventually with a great amount of effort from Ace. Marco, on the other hand, didn't seem particularly bothered by anything.

It wasn't until Ace set everything down and took a seat on the planks of the crow's nest with his back against the half-wall that closed the nest off, that he started doubting his plan. He took a moment to breathe deeply before he carefully removed the hat, setting it down with everything else he brought along. Marco showed no intention of moving and Ace didn't really plan on removing him from the top of his head for the simple reason of not knowing what he'd do with Marco after removing him from where he was perched. Instead, Ace relaxed as much as the situation allowed and picked up the book he brought from their room. It was in that moment that he realized he had yet to speak to Marco since the whole ordeal happened. Clearly, Marco wouldn't be able to respond in his bird form, but he reacted to Thatch speaking earlier. Clearing his throat, Ace decided to give it a try.

"Uhm, so... "

As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt like a complete moron. What the hell was that? Surely, Marco would see right through him and pick up on the nervousness Ace hadn't felt since the first time he realized he wanted Marco as so much more than a brother. Silly things to think about at the moment and he chuckled to himself at the ridiculousness. Marco knew him inside and out, saw him at Ace's best and worst times. A little nervous energy was hardly going to matter in the long run.

"I'm going to read to you," he said, voice steadier as he managed a small smile, "and then you could, if you want, transform back for me and eat your breakfast." The reply he got was a peck to his forehead, which, at least meant Marco was listening and, possibly, understanding what Ace had to say. If nothing else, he took it as encouragement to start reading and he did so before Marco managed to peck him once again.

Keeping his voice low, but steady, Ace started reading and immediately felt Marco's tiny body melting against the top of his head. The tiny flames licked through Ace's hair in a soothing fashion and, as Marco relaxed, Ace found himself relaxing as well. He never did read much, too angry as a kid and forced to grow up far too soon surrounded by bandits that did nothing of the sort, but Marco loved it and, the further he read, the more familiar this book seemed to Ace. It didn't take much longer to realize, with a smile, that it was the same book Marco would read, mostly out loud, in the general vicinity of Ace's hiding space before he allowed himself to join Whitebeard's crew. With Marco as he was at the moment, those days felt like they transpired a lifetime ago.

He kept going, hoping his voice was coming out as a soothing sound even if he grew slightly frustrated at the lack of a human Marco. The plan was clearly not working in its entirety, only serving to calm Marco from his earlier panic, but Ace couldn't really say that wasn't good enough reason to continue reading. So he did. If nothing else, they were together with no one watching their every move.

It was another short while later that Ace finally felt hesitant movement on top of his hair, the slow movements rustling his hair and scratching at his scalp. He didn't stop what he was doing, careful not to frighten Marco with any sudden movements. It took him only another short moment to realize what Marco was actually doing and, with a sudden panic, Ace wanted to reach out and grab at the tiny bird, but he wasn't fast enough. He barely thought about reacting before a flash of blue soared in front of him, tiny wings flapping as the little phoenix tried to take flight, but didn't seem to be able to do so.

With a thump, Marco landed onto Ace's lap, hidden behind the open book Ace clutched in his hands. Marco only looked a bit dazed, feathers rumpled by the sudden fall, but he didn't seem distressed and Ace could finally release the breath he had been holding in, as if breathing out would release the pressure of fright in his chest. His movements now less calculated and calm, Ace set the book to the side, right next to his hat, and reached out for Marco. Scooping this tiny form into his hands was so easily done and, crossing his legs as he lifted Marco closer to his chest, Ace couldn't help but smile again at the unbelievable cuteness. Marco didn't really seem to like being observed with such focus so Ace set him down, this time on the floor in front of Ace's crossed legs.

"Will you change back for me now?" Ace asked, eyes set on Marco's lazy looking ones as the little bird poofed up before averting his gaze and sitting down. Blue, soft looking fire swirled around him and in a flash, the little birdie was replaced by a bashful looking child.

Marco wasn't looking at him, but Ace was fairly sure there was a pout on his tiny lips. "I need to get you dressed," Ace said, grabbing the soft yellow plush of the onesie and noted the disdain on Marco's face as his eyes followed the movements of Ace's hand. He didn't seem happy about this choice of attire, but Marco simply closed his eyes and let Ace dress him; an experience entirely too embarrassing for them both, but also something they would undoubtedly never speak of again. Ace knew he sure as hell wouldn't bring it up ever to anyone, especially Marco.

He refrained from pulling the hood over Marco's head so Ace leaned back once again, observing as Marco sat up, his chubby hands clutching at the fabric encasing his feet. His lips still held a pout and the skin of his cheeks was flushed pink with the embarrassment of having his boyfriend dressing him into a onesie that was meant to look like a duck. Or it was simply something normal for kids, Ace didn't really know.

Ace didn't look away, the sight entirely too entertaining, until Marco opened his eyes and looked back at Ace. The breath startled out of him, Ace stared at the little face before him instead of watching with barely contained fondness as he did only seconds before. Marco was currently a child in appearance and demeanor, but Ace couldn't look away from the eyes. They were entirely Marco's eyes, too wise and too serious for such a small innocent looking face and suddenly, the lightheartedness of the situation was gone, disappeared in a flash and Ace was left with an overwhelming sadness of everything that's happened in the last day. The uncertainty was back as all rational thought fled from his mind; Thatch's words that Marco would go back to normal meant nothing at the moment, not with this child looking at him with Marco's intense gaze. It only solidified the fear that Ace felt since the beginning of the whole ordeal.

His eyes burned as they couldn't look away from Marco's stare, every bad possibility going through his mind and filling him with more dread than he thought possible. Still, with every passing moment, the intensity in Marco's eyes diminished and he finally moved, slow and childishly clumsy under Ace's gaze as he got to his feet with some effort. Just a small step and he reached out, small hand soft on Ace's cheek as Marco climbed into Ace's lap, sliding closer and removing his hand until his side pressed against Ace's chest, head tucked securely under Ace's chin.

There was nothing left for Ace to do but wind his arms around the small body tucked against him, pressing his cheek against the top of Marco's head. In that moment, as he closed his eyes, Ace knew undoubtedly that it was his Marco safely nestled in his arms, relying on him for once to keep him safe. Allowing himself a moment to calm down, Ace simply held Marco close and Marco let him, the only movement coming from him was the steady rise and fall of his chest that came with every breath. Ace could never have imagined that such a simple motion he usually took for granted would offer him such relief now, yet it did and he found himself grateful. He could have stayed like that for hours, the need to move even a tiny bit was non-existent, but the rumbling of Marco's belly startled him out of his calm and he remembered what they were there for in the first place.

Pressing his lips softly against the tuff of Marco's hair, Ace leaned back and eased his grip enough to take a look at Marco, chuckling at the light blush gracing his chubby cheeks. The pout Marco was sporting sent a surge of amusement and awe through Ace, making it very hard to keep a straight face as Marco looked up at him, but somehow he managed for long enough to grab the plate of food and place it in his lap next to Marco. It was enough to draw the attention of Marco's gaze from Ace, allowing him to finally release a breathless laugh, keeping it as quiet as possible, but the resulting grin was there to stay.

He wouldn't be able to rid himself of it if he tried, not with the way Marco attacked his plate of what was clearly specifically chosen food; fruits and a small bowl of now cold oatmeal, hidden under some apple slices, that Ace of course heated up for Marco, no matter how much teasing he got in the past for using his power for cooking. Or burning huge pieces of meat, it was all the same to him.

Marco, to Ace's amusement, ate like a regular child. There was oatmeal everywhere, small pieces of forgotten fruit somehow sticking to Marco's cheeks if they weren't tangled in Ace's own hair. Ace tried to be annoyed, he really did, but he simply couldn't find it in himself to be even remotely mad at Marco while he looked so adorably focused on eating absolutely everything in front of him. The ship could have been on fire, for all Marco seemed to care, not even flinching when Ace let his fingers card through the soft blond hair. It made him smile how at ease Marco was around him, despite the earlier scared reaction when Ace first woke up.

The whole feeding process took a while and Ace almost couldn't contain the amusement at the sight, only barely managing until Marco finished and turned his gaze back to Ace's face. The delighted little look Marco wore, his blue eyes wide while the rest of his face remained covered with sticky juice from at least one kind of fruit and little pieces of what looked like apple stuck right next to his mouth, was enough to make Ace grin once more. It didn't last for long, not once Marco frowned before grabbing Ace's face with his sticky hands, wiping the stickiness along Ace's skin. A child should not have been able to look as devious as Marco managed at that moment, but Ace ignored it as he took in the entire messy sight of Marco's current appearance. The onesie was no longer clean, Marco was sticky on every exposed piece of his skin and Ace himself wasn't that much different, though he also still had dried blood around the abundance of scratches he collected since waking up.

The idea formed in his mind before he even had time to blink, a chuckle escaping his lips before he could control himself and it was all it took to remove the empty plate from his lap before securing Marco in his arms, propping him against Ace's hip as he stood. A bath was what they both desperately needed and it was enough to keep Ace occupied, leaving him with no room for panic or sadness he had felt before.

"Will you talk to me?" Ace asked, still standing in the crow's nest. This was, after all, the only way he could think of finding out whether Marco could talk or not. He glanced down to find Marco staring at him, his eyes huge and sad while his mouth quirked downwards into a small frown. It was all the answer Ace needed and all he could offer in turn was a sad smile and a small nod. That was as far as he could go on the matter, opting for the bath rather than another bout of anguish fueled by the sadness on Marco's face.

Gripping Marco tightly, Ace jumped over the crow's nest railing, encasing the two of them in a shell of bright fire that eased its way through the air before Ace's boots thumped on the planks of the deck and the fire fluttered away. The display drew the attention of stray crewmembers milling about on deck, but Ace wasn't glaring at them. No, his attention was drawn to Marco and the awed look on his face, one that was so much better to see than the stricken expression he wore just a short few moments ago. Marco was clapping his hands in glee, watching the last licks of flame disappearing into the sky.

The glee morphed into slight disappointment as soon as the fire was entirely out of sight and Ace was overwhelmed with the need to fix at least that while everything else remained out of his hands. With one of those hands still keeping Marco safely propped against his hip, Ace lifted the other hand and slowly let it flicker into a small whirlwind of flames, watching as the pure unadulterated joy returned to Marco's face. He couldn't stop the grin breaking out on his face even if he tried as he watched Marco poke at the flames, smiling when his own blue ones emerged to keep him from any harm.

Ace didn't think Marco had any conscious control over his powers at the moment, but it was immensely reassuring that the power itself never failed to keep Marco alive and well. Considering the events that led to their current situation, Ace held the exact scope of Marco's power in very high regards. Not to mention how damn endearing the sight was, adding a new level of affection Ace harbored for the mingling of their flames. After all, it was something only the two of them are capable of.

Still, as endearing as it was, the sight of little Marco with a grin on his face was worse than a neon sign when it came to drawing attention; it was almost no time at all before every single pair of eyes was on them, each crewmate within shouting distance now interested in what Marco was doing. Ace, for one, was hardly in the mood for being the centre of attention, still worried about how Marco might react when faced with the crew's excitement.

He made his escape quickly, before anyone even thought of approaching them. It was before he noticed, though, how Pops looked entirely too amused at the antics the entire time. Ace would probably laugh as well, had he not been busy trying to think about bath time with a toddler. The logistics of an endeavor like that weren't familiar to him, after all, considering Luffy had been the youngest child he knew and Luffy used to bathe himself. Not all too successfully, but still, he tried and that's what counted.

Lucky for them, it was the time of day when everyone had their duties to perform, leaving the bath entirely empty, even the one reserved for commanders. For Ace it seemed like the first stroke of luck they'd had with the crew so far, but even with knowing everyone should be busy elsewhere, he couldn't help but lock the door as they entered, knowing at least one of his brothers might try and peek into the bath. Which was entirely too weird to think about. Sure, Marco was adorable, but seriously, was that enough reason to spy on their bath time?

Only then did Ace realize that it really would be _their_ bath time because he was covered in sticky stuff and food just as much as Marco was, which was funny considering Ace hadn't actually eaten in the crow's nest. He sighed, realizing he completely screwed up by not bringing fresh clothes with them, startling at the sudden knock on the door that could only be Izo. The man had a sixth sense about people being in need to clothes. Or maybe it was an ability only specific to baby Marco, who knew.

"Open the door, Ace," Izo's muffled voice reached him and,really, that was just spooky. Either there really was a weird ability hidden there or Ace was just extremely predictable. And yet they still left Marco in his care.

With a click, Ace unlocked the door, Marco still on his hip, entirely uninterested in the proceedings. The indifferent expression was an unusual sight on such a young face. Izo peeked in immediately, showing a bundle of clothes into Ace's free hand and disappearing just as swiftly with a grin on his face.

Instead of marveling over how odd Izo was, Ace set the clothes to the side before starting the water and letting it flow into the tub. The sound filled the room while Ace sat Marco on the sink just to take off the dirty onesie more easily. He was kind of sad to see it go; it was adorable. But one glance at the pile of clean clothes revealed that Izo deemed it best that Marco wore the dinosaur onesie next which made Ace snigger and Marco glare with all the intensity a toddler could muster. The result was actually quite impressive.

The glare only seemed to intensify by the time the tub filled out and Ace poured some soap into the water. Bubbles, oddly enough, softened the glare, but only until Ace stripped down to his underwear and picked Marco up again. The idea of sharing a bath didn't seem to appeal to him, but Ace paid him no mind, simply adding this event to the list of ones Marco would take his revenge for at a later time. It didn't seem like such a bad prospect at the moment.

The whole ordeal involved more resistance than expected and took far longer than Ace thought one bath should, but he couldn't really help it. They were both covered in bubbles, surrounded by the smell of mint, Ace did his best to remove all stray pieces of fruit while Marco did everything in his power to prevent that from happening. It was hard to say why, exactly, but Ace did manage eventually. Barely, but that wasn't important. He was completely lucky there was no audience for this, though.

As soon as they were out of the water, Marco's body started bursting into flames randomly, his feet turning into talons for a few seconds at a time all the while Marco glared at the green onesie. If Ace ever needed proof of Marco's disdain for the clothing choices he had at the moment, this was definitely it. Not that it was reason enough to change the outfit, of course.

Ace set Marco down, drying him with a clean towel as he himself dried off almost immediately with the heat radiating from his body. It was enough for Marco to give in, stopping the shenanigans with his power and shifting as close as possible to the warmth. There was no way Ace could deny him that, picking Marco back up and hugging him close, smiling at the sigh he felt against his neck.

"I don't know if you can even get sick or cold, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," Ace started, winding his arms tighter around Marco's small body, "so let me dress you in this, I know it's funny, but it's also warm." He kept his voice steady, doing his best not to laugh or sound amused as he actually was, whispering into Marco's still damp hair.

Marco calmed down further, clearly giving in and Ace continued hugging him for a while longer before finally going about dressing Marco and himself. The displeasure with the onesie was palpable, but they managed without a hitch. Still, Ace took pity on Marco when faced with a pout that would never have worked on Marco's adult face.

"We can spend the rest of the day in our room and no one will see you but me," Ace offered as they walked down the hall towards their door. The suggestion was made as much for Marco's sake as for Ace's own, given that he was still uneasy with the abundance of attention constantly aimed at them. "I can keep reading," he added with a smile that only turned brighter and wider as Marco looked up at him to nod enthusiastically with a smile of his own. As simple a decision as it was, it felt good to finally have some semblance of a plan, even if it included curling up around Marco and reading out loud.

-0-

Things remained pretty much the same for the first week, with Marco completely uneasy in front of the crew, staying in his Phoenix form rather than a child in colorful and often hilarious onesies. Ace suspected the uneasiness shifted from the crew to the attire after several days, but he refused to comment on it because Marco was trusting him. He was still the only one that spent the longest time with Marco while he was in his human body, allowed to even touch him unlike everyone else.

Still, it seemed that coddling and touching was alright if he was in bird form. Ace had gotten used to walking around with a tiny birdie perched on his shoulder or, more often, on the top of his head. Pretty often under the hat, which was hilarious to Ace, but it was convenient for allowing him to move freely in front of the crew without being the centre of attention. That in itself was fairly refreshing.

"Hey, Thatch!" Ace called out, walking towards where a few of his brothers stood in front of Pops. It's been days and he noticed a pile of paperwork on Marco's desk was growing bigger by the day. Considering Marco wasn't really much help with that at the moment, so Ace had to find someone to deal with it. Someone that wasn't him, specifically.

He felt tiny claws digging into his scalp, but the feeling was familiar already and fairly easy to ignore if he let his hair smoulder and flame under the hat whenever he felt Marco getting restless. If there was one thing he could safely use as a distraction, it was fire. His fire, to be exact.

"Yo! What's up?" Thatch asked as Ace came closer.

"I need help with some paperwork that Marco usually does," he started simply before starting a less than dignified rant about the amounts of paperwork a pirate needs in his pirating life and the merits of not doing paperwork, but the longer he spoke, the more he noticed Thatch's attention shifted. Not very far, really, but it was no longer on his face and instead, Thatch stared at the top of Ace's head with such rapt focus that it was hard not to guess what had happened.

Ace felt the hat shift on his head and the downright embarrassing squeek from Thatch as Marco peeked out from his hiding place. He didn't have to actually see it to know what was going on, after all, considering it had happened before. There was a distinct feeling of wiggling on his head and tiny feet scratching along his scalp followed by soft chirping that managed to draw a smile even from Ace. Thatch was long gone, though, grinning like a fool as he poked at Marco, laughing at being pecked by the world's tiniest beak. It might have looked harmless, but Ace could confirm, with first hand knowledge, that it was more dangerous than it seemed.

Seeing he wouldn't get anywhere with what he'd initially set out to do, Ace huffed in slight annoyance at Marco stealing his thunder before he shot Thatch a glare and stalked off. Marco only clawed at his scalp a bit more as he settled back under the hat, but otherwise did nothing to protest their tactical retreat back to their room and the book they still haven't finished.

It seemed their days passed in the same manner for another two weeks, their routine of going to breakfast then reading in the crow's nest until Marco made a mess of himself only interrupted when they docked at the next island on their route. Even if it was a winter island, Ace didn't mind the temperature much, but his worry for Marco, already considered fairly alarming, simply grew.

As odd as it was for Marco to be affected by the cold, Ace didn't question it much, not with his responsibility to make sure Marco was alright while he couldn't take care of himself. Still, he couldn't let himself stay cooped up in their room while the crew celebrated one thing or another, partying up on the deck while the snow fell.

Apparently, Marco suddenly being cold was nowhere near as odd as Ace wearing a coat, which he could admit, was fairly weird after denying the existence of shirts for a long while now. He didn't let the disbelieving looks bother him, though, as he joined Thatch and Izo next to Pops' seat. Even if he was feeling the weight of three weeks without Marco's voice to keep him sane on his shoulders, Ace did his best to enjoy the time he was spending with his brothers after doing nothing but hiding away with a child that was supposed to be Marco. He let them coo and grin when Marco's phoenix head peeked out from his coat just under his chin, hiding the strain of the last few days where Marco couldn't stop shaking as pain showed in almost every expression he made.

Three weeks and he could barely hide the stress and the sadness that gathered in his chest whenever Marco looked him in the eyes because the heavy anguish that was found there couldn't belong to a child that young. The glimpses of _his_ Marco that he caught from time to time only made the whole situation worse. Still, he could do nothing but excuse himself from the deck when he felt Marco shivering, even in his bird form, before he went to their room to curl around the small aching body and hope he can at least hold them both together until this ordeal passes as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Even if the weeks of uncertainty and caring for a de-aged Marco had started taking its toll on Ace, he had grown accustomed to sleeping curled around a small fragile body. It was oddly comforting, letting someone else be the centre around which he could wrap himself and the warmth of his fire. Of course, it wasn't just anyone; it was Marco. Strong, fearless, the leader that protected them all. Ace would even consider it an honor, being allowed to see Marco as anything other than the man that showed him what Pops' crew really was.

Ace was getting used to small hands clinging to him during the night, whether he slept or not. Which was why it came as an unpleasant surprise when he stirred from sleep due to the thrashing in his arms. Well, it was the sharp kick to his kidney that woke him and he tightened his hold in an attempt to chase away the fright that plagued Marco. Nightmares were, after all, hardly an oddity, no matter the size of his body.

The thrashing didn't stop, though. Marco whimpered, his face hidden under Ace's chin, and he sounded so utterly pained that Ace could barely stand it. He felt fire under his hands, fire that was only partly his own that appeared in response to the flames sprouting from Marco's skin. The random bursts of blue fire weren't strange lately either, what with Marco's lack of control over the phoenix inside, but Ace could see this was entirely out of the ordinary, even from the oddity that were their last few weeks.

Marco's pain was evident with each passing moment, the sounds growing in volume and Ace let go for fear he was the one that caused Marco such immense pain. He tried pulling away, yet couldn't bring himself to go too far, because Marco whimpering like a frightened child brought out his protective side. Even if, technically, he had been a child these several weeks, this was all kinds of different and entirely bad. Ace wasn't sure whether he could take so many changes and frights in such a short period of time; he was sure he couldn't, yet he didn't have a choice in the matter because Marco's fear was ringing out through the room as his body disappeared in a storm of blue flames. They were the dark, violent kind Ace had seen only once, weeks ago, when the whole ordeal started and he hoped he wouldn't see ever again.

Clearly, his hope was all in vain as the flurry filled their room, only the warmth of Ace's own fire keeping him safe as the icy flames threatened to overwhelm him, already chilling him to the bone. He was torn between running for help and getting closer to the heart of the storm to simply hold Marco through whatever this was. All too soon, though, before he could really make up his mind or calm himself, for that matter, everything came to a halt. Ace's ears rang from the pressure of the storm that rose and died out inside the confines of their small room, but he ignored it as best as he could. After all, Marco was his main priority.

Stumbling back to the bed, Ace let his knee sink into the soft mattress as he leaned over where Marco lay. His hand slowly lit up the closer he got, casting the room in soft light until he could see Marco clearly. A gasp left his lips at the sight, a sudden flutter of hope making its way known in his chest for the first time in weeks. The clothes Marco had been wearing were now torn and ruined, but the small nest was no longer occupied by a tiny toddler. Instead, an older child, still easily recognizable as Marco, lay breathing hard in the middle of the mess of blankets. Ace was bad at figuring out how old Marco was at the moment, not that it mattered much anyway as he leaned down and let his hand brush the damp strands of hair from Marco's forehead.

Ace breathed a sigh of relief as Marco's breathing turned less erratic and he finally opened his eyes, so bright and blue and full of pain that made Marco look simultaneously far too young and painfully old at the same time. Unshed tears shone in the flickering light of Ace's fire for a moment, doing nothing to mask the pleading look Marco wore, before the light died out and Ace let himself settle onto the bed once more. Barely a moment passed until Marco's shaky arms, slim and clammy from sweat, circled Ace's waist and held him tight. It was all the invitation he needed to do the same, holding Marco close as if he could transfer his own body heat over to Marco and stop the shocks that still shook Marco's body.

There was no chance of sleeping, not after this, at least for Ace while Marco's breathing evened out and his grip turned lax, sleep taking over in a matter of minutes. Ace didn't doubt that the ordeal of growing bigger and older in just seconds was physically taxing; he was loathe to imagine what the mental strain of something like this was. The thought only made him grip Marco tighter, pulling him closer, as if that simple action would be enough to chase away the pain and the fright.

Still, it did nothing to chase away the terror that still chilled his veins. It was terribly selfish of him to think about his own displeasure at the situation, but he couldn't help it. The uncertainty was too strong; it had been weeks since he watched Marco barely escape death and he'd only just gotten used to the fact Marco was no longer the man Ace knew. He had only just accepted the unusual situation and here it was, changing once again. Even if this was proof that Marco would return to his old self, Ace couldn't help but abhor the pain that would clearly pave the road to the way things once were.

Though, Ace couldn't help but think, things would never be the way they had been before. He knew about Marco's nightmares all along, about the points of his personality that seemed so strange and unbefitting of a first mate yet all of it made sense now that Ace knew just how much power lay hidden under Marco's stoic surface. It hardly affected Ace's feelings for Marco, really, but it still painted Marco in a new light.

His heart still beat frantically in his chest, the force of it matching the beating of Marco's heart against him in the aftermath of such panic. The rhythm of the beating was what eventually lulled Ace into sleep as well. His dreams were nothing peaceful or calm, but he slept nonetheless, his grip around Marco still strong when he woke in the morning. He'd hardly consider himself well rested, but there was nothing he could do about it, not with the terror of the previous night still fresh in his mind.

Marco, however, didn't seem to be ready to wake up. In the pale morning light, Ace could see him better, carefully pulling back and extracting his arms from around Marco's worryingly thin body. He allowed himself a small chuckle of amusement when he noted that the tuff of hair on top of Marco's head only grew curlier as he was older, the sides of his head now covered in soft blond fuzz as well. Endearing was one way of putting it. The amusement stopped there, though, as Ace's gaze roamed over Marco's body. He was small and thin, but his age was still information that eluded Ace. There was no way he could miss the pallor of Marco's skin, though, nor the circles around his eyes that suggested he hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, even if Ace knew the opposite was true.

Knowing there was no way he'd fall asleep, not again, and honestly, he'd rather stay awake than allow himself to sleep and dream of fear and loss again. Instead, Ace cast a glance towards the desk in the corner and the downright criminal pile of paperwork stacked on it, just waiting to be looked at and filled out. Normally, it was Marco's job; not only because he was the first mate, but because no one else could really be trusted with something that important. Even now, with Marco out of commission for his usual duties and jobs that came with his position, there was no one to take on that particular task. Well, no one wanted to take the burden of paperwork on themselves, no one but Ace, that is, because Marco was in his care.

The novelty of toddler Marco wore off, after all, and the two of them were left to their own devices with only Thatch and Izo helping out here and there. Heaving a sigh of resignation, Ace gently extracted himself completely from the tangle of Marco's limbs and got out of bed. Marco barely stirred and Ace let himself feel some relief at that, figuring Marco could use all the rest he could get.

Knowing there was still an hour or so before breakfast, Ace settled into Marco's chair and marvelled at how it was even possible to get so many papers. Piracy was apparently more bureaucratic than Ace ever imagined. He grabbed the closest paper and the pen next to it before he started reading. It was all incredibly dull to him, but he'd seen Marco fill out the same papers over and over again. At the time, he never figured he'd remember all of it, but it seemed he could learn anything if he'd seen it enough times. Marco, for one, never looked _that_ bored while doing this and Ace could hardly imagine how that was possible. The man, clearly, had the patience of a saint.

Halfway through the stack and almost an hour later, Ace finally heard shuffling from behind him. He turned just in time to see a burst of blue and then the small poofy phoenix stared at him from his nest, blinking softly as if he was still half asleep. Ace left him to it, smiling as he turned back to the papers before him, hoping that the bell signaling breakfast would ring sooner rather than later.

He would be worried about Marco and breakfast, now that Marco decided to phoenix up, but Ace was used to it by now. More often than not, Marco preferred to eat breakfast in the crow's nest, away from prying eyes. Ace was no fool, he could see Marco liked it when Ace read to him which was probably the only reason Marco still refused to eat with the crew. Honestly, Ace liked that part of their day as well, finding it just as soothing after mostly sleepless nights and all the stress that was dealing with both his and Marco's responsibilities as commanders. If nothing else, most of their commander duties were distributed amongst other commanders which left Ace with time for Marco and hiding from the crew, on a good day, but some things were still left to him. All in all, the past several weeks weren't exactly easier on him than they were on Marco.

Still, Ace was confident Marco would finally be able to talk to him at least, which would, in itself, lift a large burden off of his shoulders. As silly as it seemed, he missed the sound of Marco's voice. The low murmur of Ace's name in the middle of the night, the sleepily uttered 'good morning' when dawn broke or the laughter that could be heard ringing out in the dining hall. Ace was still reeling from the discovery of just how many things about Marco he had been taking for granted. Funny how a near death experience could put things into perspective.

The sound of the bell startled Ace out of his musings, followed by an indignant squak from the bed. Ace made sure not to show his amusement as he turned to look at Marco. His eyes were wide, which was a surprise in itself what with the permanent half lidded look Marco had going, but he was also once again human. Instead of laughing like he was going to, Ace got up and decided to rummage through the bag of clothes Izo had given him on that first evening. There was bound to be some clothing for an older Marco because, well, Izo packed that bag and if Izo was one thing, it was prepared. No one even questioned it anymore, really.

As expected, Ace found a few bigger articles of clothing; less colorful and amusing than the onesies, which was a damn shame. At least he could find some hope in the fact that there weren't that many pieces for a child of whatever age Marco was currently. Surely, that meant he'd be back to his old self really soon, right? There were even a few pairs of pants that would fit a kid slightly older than how Marco was currently. This too gave him hope, yet it also terrified him at the same time. Really, it wasn't easy getting his emotions in check lately.

"You can dress yourself now, right?" Ace asked without looking at Marco immediately, fully expecting a verbal reply. Still, when one never came, he turned to find Marco nodding with a hand stretched out before him, waiting to be handed whatever Ace deemed good enough for him to wear. If there was one thing Ace was grateful for, it was that Marco never second guessed Ace's choices regarding clothes and when it was time to sleep or eat or anything else a regular child might throw a fit over.

For the first time in weeks, Ace and Marco left the room together walking hand in hand instead of Marco hiding in his phoenix form like he started doing. Ace was compelled to leave their current reading material behind, but couldn't go through with it in the end; he enjoyed their reading sessions just as much as Marco does. He let himself muse that they could continue with their little tradition even when it's not strictly necessary for Marco's state of calm.

They were met with a complete and stunned silence as soon as they entered the dining hall, eerily like that first morning when Ace walked in with a tiny phoenix on his shoulder. It was almost enough to make him crack a smile, albeit a tired one, but he knew things were bound to escalate back into the annoying overabundance of enthusiasm and too loud cheer. The silence, though, stretched a few minutes more until the scraping against the floorboards drew Ace's attention to the back of the room. Thatch was, once again, the first to react in the form of a gleeful yell of Marco's name. Ace would have cringed, especially after the last time this had happened, but Marco's reaction stopped him.

As soon as Thatch called his name, Marco let go of Ace and started running, an excited grin stretching his lips. Ace watched in stunned silence as he hurried between the tables before jumping onto Thatch as if to tackle him, though, Thatch caught him readily before hugging him tightly with a huge grin on his own face, the match the one Marco wore. Adorable was one of describing it, a sentiment Izo and Pops seemed to share if their awestruck faces were anything to go by.

"Go back to your food!" Ace called out to the crew with the most menacing glare he could muster, relishing in the fact everyone, save for the commanders, followed his order. Marco was settling in next to Thatch, leaving his usual seat next to Pops empty for Ace. That suited him just fine, having a semblance of privacy to talk to Pops at long last.

"He's ten," Pops said as soon as Ace sat down, without looking away from Marco's grinning face. "He used to be too small for his age."

Ace could see what he meant, Marco really didn't look like he was ten now, not to mention how extremely tiny he had been until the night before.

"He won't talk to me," Ace said, his voice low, half hoping Pops wouldn't actually hear him. Whining about not getting what he wanted wasn't becoming of a commander aboard Whitebeard's ship. Still, how could he not want this? Marco hadn't spoken a word in weeks and it did nothing to settle Ace's nerves. He was growing, slowly becoming himself once again, but somehow that wasn't enough. Not really. Ace was having a hard time pretending everything was okay and that Marco really will return back to normal, but the lack of talking was a bit discouraging. What if he never spoke again? What if he lost a bit of himself because he was so violently thrown back in time to a point where he wasn't as strong and dependable? It was a thought Ace couldn't bear.

Whitebeard sighed, snapping Ace's attention back from disturbing thoughts. "It's not because of you, son," Whitebeard said, clapping his huge hand onto Ace's shoulder in comfort. Well, Ace assumed it was supposed to provide comfort, but combined with those words, it did nothing but muddle his fears further. "It's nothing to worry about, trust me."

Even with the unshakeable trust Ace had in Whitebeard, he couldn't help but find himself doubting the statement given to him. Without an explanation, Ace couldn't simply _trust_ that it'll all be okay, not about this. Still, looking at Marco grinning as he poked at Thatch's meticulous hair, getting mock annoyance in reply, made Ace smile just a tiny bit. Some things didn't seem to change, no matter how weird the situation. It was a small comfort in the grand scheme of things, but a comfort nonetheless, enough for him to leave Marco safely with Thatch while he turned to his breakfast. Ace could feel Pops' watching him for a while longer, but didn't turn to meet his eyes.

"He'll tell you all about it when he can," Whitebeard added before he too returned to his breakfast. Ace nodded stiffly, letting the matter drop as the sounds of amused laughter around him distracted him from his thoughts. He barely tasted the food he ate, but it didn't matter. His sour mood prevailed throughout breakfast and Ace honestly couldn't see it dispersing any time soon, considering most of it was due to not sleeping much. After all, he never coped well with lack of sleep. The need to just let his head drop to the table and doze off was burning behind his eyes, making it difficult to think straight.

He was stronger than that, though, he could stay awake for as long as needed and that clearly meant the entire time Marco was awake because there was no way he'd leave him in someone else's care. Not that he didn't trust his brothers, but the option just didn't sit well with Ace, as funny as it sounded. With a fair amount of amusement, Ace figured this is what parents must feel like.

Barely a moment passed before Thatch shrieked, bouncing from his seat and running towards the door with Marco attached to his back, grinning as they went, and Ace found himself groaning in exasperation. It was already obvious his day would be more strenuous than what he'd thought possible. Surely, having Thatch act like a child himself barely helped any, a sentiment Ace knew Izo shared as soon as he glanced over and noticed the look of utter, painfully familiar exasperation on Izo's face. Now that was enough to bring a smile to Ace's face before he picked himself up from the chair and followed the sound of laughter.

It was truly impressive how loud Thatch's laughter could be when he was truly happy, which seemed to be the case at the moment. Ace would admit it was nice, a sentiment once again shared by Izo who followed close behind as they made their way towards the deck. The day was sunny, barely a cloud in sight, it'd be a true shame to waste it indoors. Thatch must have thought the same as he bounded up towards the open space of the deck, but Ace frowned as soon as he stepped out and failed to locate either Thatch or Marco. Normally, that wouldn't be all that strange, but at the moment, Ace could feel an ominous sense of foreboding. Not all that unusual when it came to leaving Thatch alone, really.

As impressive at is was, disappearing into thin air without anyone seeing them, it was also very concerning and Ace scanned the entire deck in search for Marco. With no success, of course, but that didn't stop him from doing it a few more times as if that would help and he'd see something new. He wasn't very successful until it occurred to him to use his haki, something he rarely did onboard, but found extremely necessary at the moment. This might have been a good time to consider his mothering instincts a bit over the top, but alas, that didn't cross his mind at all, the sheer terror of displacing Marco too overwhelming to find space for any other thoughts. That in itself, the irrational fear that Marco wasn't safe aboard the Moby Dick, should also have been reason for alarm, but Ace had concluded weeks ago that anything and everything would worry him while Marco remained in a child's body. Also fairly irrational, but that was neither here nor there.

The haki, however, revealed Thatch's familiar presence on top of the main mast, safely in the crow's nest. Ace was, despite his panic, impressed with how fast Thatch seemed to have climbed up there with Marco in tow. He let that feeling prevail, at least for a short moment, before crippling terror took over as soon as Thatch shouted.

"Woohoo!" The single exclamation could be heard as Ace watched, with complete horror reflecting in his eyes, as Thatch lifted his hands and threw the still small phoenix into the air. Ace stood helpless and horrified as the small blue form melted into the color of the sky before his golden ringed tail glistened in the sunlight. He couldn't tear his gaze away, observing intently as Marco soared through the air before, suddenly, he started his descend. Well, fall was a more accurate way to describe it because Marco was not flapping his little wings in the slightest which wasn't exactly a good thing.

Ace was sure his heart would just give out and stop beating because it was going too fast for a normal human being to withstand. He was sure he had never known fear such as this in his entire life, or rather, he had a hard time imagining it at the moment because Marco was falling with incredible speed. The meeting between tiny Marco and the wooden deck was inevitable from where Ace stood, not to mention terrifying.

He would have thought it impossible to feel fear worse than what he felt the previous night when he woke to Marco convulsing in pain next to him or what he had feel weeks ago when Marco almost died, yet, suddenly, this was much worse. Watching as Marco kept falling and falling, almost in slow motion, was the worst sight he'd seen in his entire time as a pirate. Ace was sure it couldn't get even worse, yet here they were, as Marco started moving his wings, but all it did was make him look like a chicken, flapping its wings uselessly because it's not meant to fly. At the moment, Marco looked like he was not meant to fly either because he _wasn't_ and it was awful and painful to watch.

Only, Marco spread his wings wide and smoothly slid through the air, gliding on the wind in a graceful arch before circling the ship. Relief at the sight came to Ace like iced water on a scorching hot day, filling him with calm once again. Of course, he was also plotting Thatch's demise for putting him through this ordeal, but Ace suspected he might have already been anticipating something of the kind.

Marco flew around the ship several times, the thrill of it practically oozing from him until he started faltering in his trajectory, the glide no longer smooth and seamless. Ace could see the short bout of flight was taxing on Marco's small body, unused to flying in this form, and it came as a relief when he started turning towards the deck. The closer he got, the better Ace felt, the panic draining from him as fast as it had appeared. Marco was flying closer to him and pretty fast, Ace noted, which was somewhat alarming because Marco was no slowing down or showing any signs of trying to land.

In fact, Ace was suddenly certain that Marco had no idea _how_ to land because, currently, he lacked that experience just like he lacked the experience of prolonged flight. Marco was coming closer and closer, a fact only punctuated more by the fact that everyone within arm's reach from him was now moving away, bracing for impact. Ace was preparing to catch Marco, after all he wasn't very big and dangerous like this, surely it wouldn't be difficult.

Of course, Marco had to have other plans. As he came within reach, Marco burst into flames and transformed into his small ten year old body just in time to crash into Ace, successfully tackling him onto the extremely uncomfortable deck. His arms flew around Marco's small frame, holding him tightly as they slid across the deck, Ace's bare back suffering most of the damage. Well, why not, it had been days since the last Marco induced injury.

With a sigh, Ace decided that he had already known Marco would be the death of him so he skipped over feeling annoyed with the current predicament, only holding Marco closer as he felt small hands curl into fists against his chest. There was a small sheepish smile waiting for him on Marco's face as soon as they made their stop and just like that, Ace forgave him, not that it was Marco's fault in the first place. He sighed again before trying to move, standing up when he deemed himself ready and groaning as he did so, Ace managed to get on his feet before finally letting go of Marco. His back burned like hell, all scratched up as it was from the rough deck planks, but Marco wouldn't let go of him.

"It's okay, not your fault," Ace told him, patting his curly tuff of hair. "Come on, you can come to the infirmary with me and you'll see I'm fine." He smiled then, once again reminded how much Marco cared for him. Still, he couldn't help but hope, for who knew which time, that all of this would be over sooner rather than later. After all, he was done with all the random injuries that came with a tiny phoenix.

-0-

Ace wasn't ready for this. The burden of the situation had already became his to carry as well, the pain of it familiar to him even if he wasn't forced to endure the physical brunt of it. It had barely been a week since Marco last grew and now it was happening again. He wasn't ready for the anguish and the pain radiating from Marco's body, surrounded by swirling fire. It became harder and harder for Ace to wish Marco would turn into his adult self with all the pain he had to endure to get there.

This time, Ace couldn't even approach the bed to comfort Marco, having been thrown off it as soon as the fire broke out. The fact there was no screaming was a small comfort, yet Ace couldn't be sure whether it was a good thing at all. Bits of paper on the desk caught fire, a feat usually impossible for Marco's healing flames to achieve, and Ace found himself more alarmed than ever. His own skin broke into flames in an attempt to protect himself without leaving the room entirely, but he couldn't stop the swell of pure worry that rose inside his chest. Marco's wasn't a fire meant to harm, at least it had never done so before, but having it happen now was all the more frightening; the inability to control the flames only meant Marco was in more pain than Ace deemed imaginable and his heart ached more with each passing moment.

He stood at the sideline, waiting for it to be over, hoping in vain that this would be the last time. It was the extent of what he could do at the moment, feeling so utterly useless and helpless while Marco bore the pain all alone. In a flash, though, the fire pulled back, drawn into the centre of the storm as it disappeared into the body on the bed. Marco was breathing hard, his chest heaving from the exertion, but his eyes remained closed, as far as Ace could see under the mess of long blond hair.

For a moment, Ace was conflicted between chuckling at the unusual sight of Marco with a full head of hair and grieving for the strenuous ordeal Marco had to go through just to get his life back. Not for the first time, Ace couldn't wrap his mind around this new image of Marco he'd been building over the weeks since this happened. Before, just like almost the entire crew, Ace had thought Marco could feel no pain, at least the physical kind. Such a foolish thought, he could see that now.

Gathering his wits, Ace climbed onto the bed and did his best to gather the new slim body into his arms, letting his body heat pour out until Marco's skin stopped feeling like ice. Ace didn't let himself relax until Marco shifted closer to the warmth, curling around Ace as he sighted in relief. Just to be on the safe side, Ace pulled a blanket over them both, but did nothing to release Marco from his grip.

The bed was warm and the body in his arms was getting warmer with each second, reminding him that he had barely sleep during the previous week, running on fumes and the need to watch over Marco the entire time. It was hard to resist the pull of sleep now, as exhausted as he was with Marco out of harm's way for the time being, so he didn't even try. Ace let his eyes fall shut as he nuzzled into the soft hair tickling his nose, falling asleep before he even had a chance to think about it.

He was woken up, rather rudely, by a slap in the face, followed by a weirdly distressed sound. Ace groaned because, while he may have gotten enough rest at long last, he did just get slapped in the face. His eyes remained closed for a while longer, only snapping open when the body he was hugging got wrenched out of his grip. There was nothing of Marco to be seen as he toppled over the side of the bed, falling onto the floor with an impressive thump.

Ace looked over towards the side of the bed as Marco's head popped up again, the mop of hair on his head falling over his face, thus successfully hiding whatever kind of expression he wore. There was nothing left to do for Ace than to stare at Marco while he managed to pick himself off the floor before grabbing a random pair of boxers from the chair and running out of the room. It struck Ace as odd behaviour, but in his defence, he was half asleep and really too confused to be able to function properly at the moment.

At least, though, Ace could conclude that Marco was a teenager, for sure. Oh how fun. He decided not to dwell on the fact Marco also ran out of the room, for reasons unknown, completely naked with nothing but a pair of Ace's boxers in his hands. Seeing how that could go all kinds of wrong was fairly easy and Ace willed himself to get up to search for a naked teen. At that moment, Ace was back to marveling over how weird pirate life turned out to be.

Still, he got up and got dressed, deciding not to hurry too much because he didn't necessarily have to hold Marco's hand the whole time anymore. He probably didn't need to before either, honestly, but it felt like the right thing to do when Marco looked like a child. Teens, as far as he knew, weren't that big on holding hands with just anyone.

No matter how much he wanted to go look for Marco and see he was okay, Ace figured Marco ran off for a reason and opted for giving him some space. Noting it was past breakfast already, Ace made his way towards the kitchen for some food, trying to convince himself that he didn't get too used to spending absolutely all of his time with Marco since his brush with death. Walking the halls all alone was odd as if he couldn't remember existing on the ship before he was, for all intents and purposes, forced into carrying and later dragging Marco around. He was half afraid to think how long it would take to remember what sleeping next to an adult felt like; or what sleeping alone was, if Marco the teenager decided not to sleep in their room for the time being. Ace sincerely hoped that wouldn't happen.

Entering the kitchen after missing breakfast along with Marco meant Ace got several amused yet odd looks which also just pointed out the fact Thatch wasn't there. Well, he was a commander, leaving the cleanup and prep work to other cooks was his prerogative, but that didn't mean he usually did that. Having done so on this particular day just made Ace twitchy in all the wrong ways, especially when the memory of Thatch throwing Marco off the main mast crow's nest came to mind. Well, that was a memory Ace would never be able to forget, actually, even with the scratches on his back completely healed already.

He didn't waste time in the kitchen, grabbing nothing but a sandwich before making his way out, trying to listen for a sign of trouble because what else would be going on when it came to Thatch and Marco together. That's precisely why it was surprising that no one was screaming and nothing was burning. It was hard not being skeptical at the moment and the lack of obvious chaos just made him move faster, bursting out onto the deck to find half the crew sitting around, staring towards Pops' chair with obvious amusement. Not one to be left out, Ace walked to the centre of their attention, gulping down the last of his food.

Not a moment later, he was grateful that he already swallowed the food because the danger of choking on it would have been very realistic. Pops was barely holding the laughter back as he too stared at the display before him.

Marco was sitting surprisingly still in a pair of Izo's too tight pants, his back straight while Thatch clipped the long hair from the sides of Marco's head. It looked like serious business, the way Thatch's focus never wavered from the task at hand, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he carefully navigated around Marco's ear. The hair, still curly, but less so than it had been before, was tied at the top of Marco's head with one side of his head buzzed short while Thatch worked on the other side. Ace couldn't see whether the back was already cut or not, but he could tell this wasn't entirely the hairstyle Marco usually wore. Now, it resembled an undercut, with more hair left at the top. It looked good, Ace had to admit, thought the process itself was ridiculous.

Also, he could see Marco's face now too and Ace was surprised at how young and thin Marco looked, how his lips stretched into a wide grin that lit up his entire appearance.

"I think this looks good," Thatch said, his hands moving from the side of Marco's head and untying the long strands, letting them fall before combing them to one side with his fingers. "You sure you want me to make it shorter?"

Ace suddenly grew breathless, eyes a bit wide as he waited for Marco's response. Was he finally going to talk? A longing to hear his voice tore through Ace as he stood there, staring as if he had never seen Marco before. Instead of words, though, Marco lifted his hands and moved his fingers, signing out his reply without looking up at Thatch. This didn't seem to surprise Thatch or Pops, for that matter, and Ace's mouth was already forming a question, his lips opening with the words ready on his tongue.

Just as fast, there was a finger pressed to his mouth, stopping him before he even managed to get a single word out. He turned to see Izo, a serious expression on his face as he glanced towards Marco and Thatch; the duo didn't seem to notice anything and Ace could hear Thatch speaking.

"I'm telling you, it looks better like this. Let me just fix up the back."

Izo turned towards him, his back to where Thatch still cut at Marco's hair with admirable focus. His hand moved from Ace's mouth and Izo crossed his arms before his chest as his gaze softened the longer he looked at Ace. They just stared at each other in silence for a few moments more before Izo leaned close.

"He should have told you this before, about all of this, and I wish he had because then I wouldn't have to," Izo started, his gaze completely focused on Ace's face, "but you look like a kicked puppy and I can't stand it anymore."

This sounded worrying to Ace, especially with the fact there were obviously more things Marco failed to tell him, but he stayed silent and waited for Izo to continue.

"Marco was mute until we found his devil fruit," Izo said, his voice lower than it had been a moment ago, clearly intent on sharing this information with Ace and no one else. He could understand why, too, because Ace was shocked even if he had suspected something for a while now, especially with what Pops told him. Ace just didn't understand why Marco never mentioned it and why there were so few people aboard who actually knew about it.

"He'll be fine when he's back to himself, you'll see," Izo added as if he didn't notice Ace zoned out for a moment there, offering a smile with the reassurance. As if in a last minute decision, Izo leaned close and gave Ace a firm, albeit short hug, before he strolled away to ruffle Marco's newly cut hair. They made an adorable image, with Thatch and Marco looking like two brothers that barely spent a day apart in their lives, and in that moment, Ace realized that _that_ really was true. They were brothers in everything but blood and suddenly it was no longer weird that Marco gravitated towards Thatch so much after the initial scare he had.

He couldn't stop the smile when he realized, this probably wasn't the first time Thatch cut Marco's hair. The smile morphed into a surprised laugh as he tried to imagine Thatch doing this when he had been the same age as Marco.

The sound drew their attention, though, and they looked at him for the first time. Thatch didn't seem fazed, clearly, because why would he be, but Marco's reaction came as a surprise. His eyes wide and his face growing alarmingly red, Marco's gaze strayed over Ace's entire form before he let his head drop and the curtain of hair obscure his face. While Ace struggled to figure the reaction out, Thatch and Izo replaced surprise with barely suppressed snickers and looks of utter glee. It was only because of that that Ace didn't worry too much, knowing they'd be more serious if the situation demanded it.

Still, no matter how much Ace tried, he couldn't hide the hurt that came when Thatch finished his work and Marco wasted absolutely no time to disappear from sight. The amusement from Thatch and Izo dissipated with that as well, but Ace schooled his expression into one of understanding and focused on not letting himself look for Marco. After all, he deserved some time alone if he wished for it, after almost two months of life without separating from each other's side.

It was the same thing he repeated for three days; three days filled with nothing but paperwork and catching random glimpses of Marco's blond hair in passing, but never in their room. Had they all not been family, Ace would worry where Marco had been sleeping, but he didn't need anyone pointing him in Thatch's direction, knowing he was the closest to Marco save for Ace himself. It was hard to imagine him going to anyone else except maybe Pops, but even that seemed unlikely after Marco's affection towards Thatch since he became a child.

It also helped that Izo came to him on the third day, moaning about no privacy because a certain teen invaded their room. There were mentions of awkward blushes and weird behavior whenever Ace was so much as mentioned in Marco's presence, but that was neither here nor there. Izo did have a tendency to tease about any and all kinds of sexual tensions and frustrations, making his claims that Marco had been hiding for days because of an overwhelming attraction to Ace and teenage hormones a bit outlandish and hard to believe.

Spending three days without a phoenix on his shoulder have proven to be extremely lonely, not even the dull drone of paperwork enough to mask the absence. Ace was already in bed that suddenly seemed too big for him alone. His only company was the fear that Marco would grow older once again, this time without Ace by his side. Whether Ace thought Marco needed the comfort or he himself, he wasn't completely sure at the moment. Perhaps both of them. What he needed was to know Marco still trusted him and that he would be back eventually. After all, it was hard to say anything for sure what with everything that's happened in such a short time.

Setting the worries aside, Ace went to sleep, alone for the third night in a row, hoping tomorrow would be a better day. He was at his wits end, completely hopeless in the face of yet another challenge and, once again, he was the only one that didn't know what was going on.


	4. Chapter 4

If there was one thing that hadn't changed about Ace since he was a child, it had to be the fact he was a very heavy sleeper. The crew knew it and took advantage of it on many a drunken night when he'd fallen asleep on deck or wherever they'd be celebrating at the time. With that in mind, being woken up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason seemed absurd and almost impossible. Especially considering Marco hadn't been sleeping in their room for a few nights now.

Still, something must have happened to wake him and Ace groggily opened his eyes, expecting to be blind in the darkness of the room, except he… wasn't. The all too familiar blue glow greeted him and, with a swell of relief and hope, Ace hurried to sit up in bed, suddenly more awake than he'd been a moment ago. Silly, how three days seemed too long without having Marco around, but he couldn't help it; he'd grown too used to having him around every day for hours on end. For weeks now, Marco had needed him and now… Suddenly having a teenager on his hands was enough for Ace to feel useless after such a long time of having Marco's undivided trust.

Ace's eyes were wide, turning to the door without hesitation, drawn to the source of the light, even if he knew very well what that source was. He found it in the doorway, a small sphere of frosty flames, dimmed from their usual brightness and Ace couldn't help staring at it for a moment longer. Such displays were always mesmerizing, taking his attention and distracting him more than was probably good for him. The light barely moved and flickered, betraying a level of control he never stopped admiring.

It was then that realization hit him, distracting him from the fire and snapping his attention first to the hand keeping the fire steady. Then his eyes focused on the face illuminated by the glow and the intense gaze focused solely on him. Ace was almost shocked by the intensity of want that swelled in his chest at the sight. He could feel his lips stretching into a smile, pulling over his teeth as he grinned because it was Marco, leaning against the open door. Not the gangly teenager that had been avoiding him for days, no, this was more the man Ace knows than he had been in weeks, even with the different haircut.

He was ready to speak, to call out and ask Marco to join him, to come to bed finally, but the longer he stared, the more Ace noticed. Marco looked sad in the face of Ace's excitement, eyes soft and his mouth curved into a smile far from joyous. It was enough to make Ace pause and look more closely. With every passing moment where Marco failed to break the silence of the room, Ace knew it still wasn't over.

The disappointment that washed over him like a freezing wave felt far greater than it had been before and Marco seemed to notice. Of course he'd notice, Marco always did, so he stepped away from the door, his expression growing sadder the longer he stared at Ace.

"Marco?" Ace asked, his voice small, and the last flicker of hope vanished as Marco signed his reply, confirming that he wasn't back to normal yet.

_I'm sorry._

Ace heaved a sigh at that, looking down at the blanket covering his lap, trying his best to quell the disappointment. Well, at least now he knew why Izo insisted on teaching him several phrases in sign language when he and Marco first got together.

Looking at Marco hurt, having him finally look so much like what Ace remembered, yet knowing this Marco would not speak to him or really just be himself. Somehow, the closer they were to being back to normal, the further it seemed to Ace. He knew it was silly, logically he knew that everything would be okay, but it just didn't feel like it at the moment, not to him. If he were honest, he'd admit that he was extremely lonely. A weird thing to feel with Marco and almost all his brothers _right there_ with him, but he couldn't help it.

Cold fingers brushed against his chin and Ace startled, jolting in bed as the hand guided his face up, making him look straight into Marco's eyes again. They were sad, yes, but also determined and Ace finally smiled with more than just sadness. At least Marco wasn't avoiding him anymore. Instead, he was lifting his other hand, letting his fingers graze against Ace's cheek before he leaned in and placed his lips against Ace's.

Ace missed the feeling so much without realizing it through his worries of the previous weeks, but now he couldn't get enough. He let his hands touch Marco's face to keep him there for a bit longer, just to get used to the feeling again after missing it for so long. One of his favorite things about Marco's power was the fact his skin ran as cool as his flames, so unlike Ace's own fire that kept his body warmer than natural. The thought made him smile into the kiss before he pull away with a fair amount of regret.

Marco smiled back before he straightened and stepped away from the bed, just far enough to toe his sandals off and let his pants drop to the floor. Ace simply moved over in bed, lifting the blanket as an invitation, one that Marco took gladly. Giving it a bit more thought, Ace had to smile because right now, Marco was around his age, funnily enough. It was something Ace never thought he'd experience.

He snapped out of his musings as Marco slid under the blanket, his hands already reaching for Ace. No matter what Ace had been expecting, Marco simply snaked his arms around Ace's waist, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them. The light faded around them, casting the room into darkness again.

"I'm glad you're here," Ace whispered as if trying not to disturb the delicate silence. Marco simply let his fingers graze against Ace's skin, leaving cool trails of simmering flame in their wake. Ace heaved a sigh of content, losing himself in the familiar feeling as he pulled even closer to Marco's chest. The muscles he felt under his hands weren't the ones he was used to, the thighs he felt against his own weren't as hard as he remembered and Marco was Ace's height now. In his half-awake amusement, Ace chuckled, shoulders shaking with the action and he looked up, finding Marco smiling as well. It almost made Ace's breath catch, seeing all the sadness gone from Marco's expression at last.

Marco's hands slid against Ace's back, over the bumps of the almost healed scratches Ace had been sporting since a certain little phoenix crash landed into him. The touch was light, but Ace still felt it, and he could immediately see the expression change on Marco's face, the frown appearing between his brows as his fingers moved, more gentle this time. Ace hissed as the touch cooled even more, feeling Marco's flames licking at his wounded skin and couldn't help another smile, accepting the motion for the silent apology it was meant to be, managing to ease Marco's frown enough for the both to relax.

Ace was slowly drifting off against Marco's chest, letting the touch on his back soothe him even if it wasn't able to heal him as Marco may have wished. Still, it was good all in itself, healing away the weeks they had spent so close, yet entirely apart. Feeling like he could finally breathe, Ace settled his head against Marco's heartbeat, smiling at the fact they could finally sleep like this again, and let himself fall asleep once more.

-0-

He woke in a burst of pain and fire, a wake up call he went through several times already in such a short period of time. Power burned through him and his muscles tensed, his teeth clenched as the wave of flames crashed over him. Marco could feel that it was different this time, could feel that it was so final at long last, the pain far stronger than the times before. Only this time, he could keep it in and pretend it wasn't there, just like every other time he got hurt with his power intact.

Barely a breath left him through it, this was a sensation he knew and felt before, but would probably never get used to. Not really. He tried his best not to tighten his grip around Ace, knowing Ace was still sleeping peacefully, even with the first light of dawn just around the corner. Marco could feel his hands cramping up, his teeth aching from the force that kept his jaw clamped shut.

As his eyes fell shut, Marco felt relief cut through the pain and the fire, knowing it was finally over, he was finally back the way he was supposed to be. The last bursts of the flames were the strongest, the most painful, yet they were also contained within him, coursing through his veins. There was nothing to wake Ace and he was glad for it, knowing Ace had barely slept for the three nights they had spent apart because of Marco's own foolishness.

Slowly, it was becoming too much to handle, too much to hide and he let go of Ace with a strong sense of regret, shifting to the side of the bed to curl in on himself, forcing himself to not make a sound. This pain was enough and Marco wasn't sure whether he could handle seeing it mirrored on Ace's face as he stood there, helpless, just like he had those previous times. Just the memory of it made Marco's chest ache for all of what they'd been through since he died from those gunshots.

Fingers curling around his knee, Marco could feel his fingernails digging into skin that healed itself almost immediately, leaking out the burning flames that were on the verge of bursting out of him. At least that's what it felt like to him.

Finally ebbing away, the pain burst inside his chest several more times, making his hair stand on end and his arms flicker into their wing form, but he stayed in control for the most part, barely letting a spark touch the bed. Marco could feel Ace turn behind him, but somehow it was obvious that he was still asleep and Marco preferred it that way, digging his nail into his skin even harder as the last pulsing of fire died down, leaving him sweating and exhausted.

The flames licking at his skin, healing the small cuts and the bleeding bite inside his mouth, were gentle and cold. They were ones he loved, smoothing over his skin and knitting it together, burning away the sweat that started cooling all over him and leaving him with nothing but the taste of blood in his mouth and the stutter in his breathing. This always left him feeling more human than ever, small and vulnerable like he had been in his childhood before the became the fearsome Phoenix.

Marco didn't move from where he sat, doubled over himself and working on calming his breathing before he felt ready to move. Exhaustion was never a sensation he felt, at least not since he ate his Devil's Fruit, but he had a chance to relive it whenever this happened. The guilt that hit him was sudden and almost surprising. Ace had been a part of their numerous family for a while now, he'd been sharing his bed with Marco for pretty much just as long, and yet Marco had never mentioned this part of his power. It hadn't happened in years and he was strong enough not to make stupid mistakes, so he hadn't felt the need to mention it.

Only, that felt like an excuse. He wasn't entirely sure why he thought he had to justify it, to explain to himself why he never said anything, but it felt important. Only Whitebeard and the commanders knew about it, but it wasn't that big of a secret, not really. Surely, Ace would understand. Still, only Pops, Thatch and Izo knew about his childhood, first hand even, and the fact he didn't speak until they'd found the fruit was important. His past with Pops and Thatch was important just as Ace's childhood with Luffy and Sabo was.

The only thought going through his head was that Ace deserved to know after baring his own soul for Marco with all the dirty details. Looking at Ace in that moment made his chest hurt with the guilt, making breathing more difficult. He looked away for a moment, just enough to calm himself and let go of the pain, at least for now. Leaving Ace to wake up alone would only make it worse, Marco knew, so with a deep breath and a calm mind once again, he turned back to Ace.

It was enough to bring a smile to his face, seeing Ace sleep peacefully without worrying about what was going on. Marco didn't need anything more to know how tired he must have been, wrung out by the stress. There was no surprise there, not for Marco at least, considering he was there for all of it, watching Ace worry and stress through the whole ordeal. All the while Marco remained forced to observe it all, knowing how much it was taking its toll on Ace, but left helpless to do anything about it.

Being a child again was the worst part of it all for Marco. Trapped in a small weak body, subjected to fears of a child while his mind remained knew it was all irrational, that he was safe with his family and that he could talk this time. He could and couldn't at the same time, the instincts of his early childhood, ones full of fear and silence, too ingrained into him. Fear he couldn't control or work through was what he hated most about his body being forced into that of a child.

With a sigh, though, he let that go as well, crawling back into bed next to Ace, enjoying the way Ace's body seemed to radiate heat and comfort. It also helped that Ace immediately turned towards Marco, shifting closer on instinct without waking up. All of it was enough to make Marco smile and chase away the guilt. His arms wound around Ace again, just like they had been before as Marco let his head fall onto the pillow. Ace's hair tickled at Marco's nose as it fanned on the pillow and Marco let himself nuzzle into it, letting the warmth and scent of Ace's body lull him back into comfort.

"Thank you," Marco breathed out, the sound muffled by the hair. It was a thanks long overdue, yet it didn't seem like enough, it could never be enough after everything Ace had done these past few long weeks.

It was enough to make Ace stir, no matter how low the sound had been. Marco could feel Ace nuzzling closer as he grumbled softly, like he usually did just before he'd wake up completely and vocalised his disdain for Marco's tendencies to get up with the first rays of light. Chuckling again, Marco thought back to how Ace had called it a 'bird thing', having to rise with the sun and whatnot. Surprisingly, though, he hadn't woken up yet and Marco settled in more comfortably, resigned to having to wait for Ace to wake up.

It was only a couple of hours later that Ace groaned against Marco's skin before moving back just enough to speak clearly. "Do you have to mumble in my hair so early?" Ace asked groggily before looking up, mustering a glare that wasn't even nearly menacing enough. Marco didn't allow himself to laugh at how Ace seemed to be aware of things while half asleep, but didn't bother reacting until it suited him. Ace's eyes were dazed and unfocused as they turned to Marco's face and Marco had a great view of Ace's expression change as soon as his brain caught up.

"You spoke!"

Ace sat up, suddenly awake, his eyes wide as he stared down at Marco and Marco couldn't help the smile on his lips. He was about to say something witty, something deep because he hadn't spoken in so long, but Ace didn't give him a chance. The breath was knocked out of his lungs as soon as Ace plopped back down, landing on Marco's chest. His arms were immediately wound around Marco's shoulders, his face hidden in the crook of Marco's neck and it took every ounce of self control to stay still.

"I did," he whispered. Physically, there was nothing wrong with him anymore, but he still felt like his voice was strained, scratchy with disuse. Of course it wasn't, not really, but the feeling was there to stay for a while, he knew, after not speaking for so long. "I'm sorry, Ace," he added in the same whisper. It was easier when Ace wasn't looking at him with those eyes.

He felt Ace take a deep breath against his skin, but he did nothing to move as he replied. "'s fine," Ace mumbled as he tightened his grip around Marco for a moment before pulling away and sitting up. "Come on, Thatch's gonna want to see you."

Marco only raised an eyebrow at that, momentarily forgetting that it was their routine these weeks; Ace would wake up and take him to the dining hall for breakfast. He clearly still didn't shake the need to do so even now, but Marco knew better than to complain. Instead he watched as Ace got dressed, eyes roaming over the scratches on his back for a moment too long before he got up and followed suit. Ace was halfway out the door when Marco remembered another part of their routine.

With a grin, he called out, stopping Ace in his tracks. Curiously, he looked back into the room, silently watching as Marco walked to the door, the grin still gracing his face. He handed over the book without a word, waiting for Ace to look at it and recognize it as the one they'd been reading last with several chapters left unread.

Marco took Ace's hand and pressed his lips against the top of Ace's head, starting down the hall, letting Ace process his wordless request as he fell into step with Marco's strides.

"You think Thatch is gonna let us take our food to the crow's nest instead of eating with them now that you're back to your old man self?" Ace asked, giving his answer about continuing the newfound tradition of breakfast in the crow's nest followed by reading out loud.

"I think it's not up to him," Marco replied, pausing for a brief moment before he smiled down at Ace, "and I think it's my turn to read."


End file.
